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Total exports fell to £37.8bn, a £7.8bn decrease in first three months of 2018 compared to the previous quarter, with the EU responsible for almost half the fall, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Exports to Ireland were particularly hard hit, with a £1.1bn fall during the quarter, with exports to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany also seeing steep declines.
Britain's services dominate total economic output, meaning that exports are a crucial contributor to the UK's GDP growth, which was notably weak in the first quarter.
The weakness in services exports came amid major political and macroeconomic uncertainty, with trade disputes threatening the economy and the Brexit process about to begin, with little sign of how the future trading relationship with the EU for services firms will function. [...]
The EU remains the UK's largest exports destination, with £14.7bn in total during the first quarter, compared to £10.2bn in total to the Americas and £6.3bn to Asia. The US is the largest single destination for exports, at £8bn. [..]