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UK trading partners - Coggle Diagram
UK trading partners
What is trade?
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Involves transport by plane, container ships or trains
Increasingly, modern trade involves the internet, for example in financing and the creative industries
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UK's trading partners
Today, the UK's most important partners are member of EU. As a single market - goods can be traded without tariffs between member states.
USA, important historic trading partner
Recent years, growth in trade with china
Trade also important with former colonies, now members of commonwealth
Important to have balance between exports and imports. If imports exceed exports, a country has a trade deficit (the amount by which a countries imports exceed the value of exports)
Long-term, can be expensive
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Imports to UK
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Most of items imported from China - clothing and electronics - are much cheaper than alternatives made in UK
UK has relatively wealthy economy, expensive items such as cars from Germany have a large market
Petroleum and petroleum products are important imports - providing UK with fuel and versatile raw material for the chemical industry
Exports from UK
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UK's main exports are engineering, oil and vehicles
Fastest growing exports in 2014, gems, precious metals and coins
The UK's manufacturing sector - motor vehicles and aeronautical engineering - also showed increase in exports in 2014