CARIFORUM and UK EPA Study

7.8 UK market attractiveness and competitiveness: An EU-Wide Comparison

In relation to the UK’s total imports of services from international partners, including the EU, the data again suggests the UK’s relative dominance as a destination for foreign direct investment and the establishment of foreign affiliates (i.e., Mode 3) for the supply of services to UK consumers, having ranked 4 th on this metric among its EU28 partners in relation to Mode 3 imports. The UK, however, ranked 3 rd from last in relation to Mode 1 imports, in comparison to its then EU partners, though with 20.1% of imports occurring via this mode, the UK was within reach of at least half of the other 27 EU Member States. The UK also remained seventh from the bottom in relation to Mode 2 imports, while it performed much more creditably in relation to Mode 4, ranking 13 th from the bottom.

Figure 22: Share of modes in services imports from the rest of the world (2017)

Share of modes in services imports from the rest of the world, by country, 2017

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

IT

FI

IE

SI

LT

DE Mode 3 LV

AT

EL BG Mode 4

PL

PT

NL

LU

CZ

BE

EE

SE

ES

SK

CY

FR

DK

UK

MT

HR Mode 2

HU

RO

Mode 1

Source: EUROSTAT Note: Estimates using the simplified Eurostat model. Modes 1, 2 and 4: ITSS imports, adjusted by excluding goods and including distribution services from trade in goods statistics to mode 1. Mode 3: inward FATS data. Missing data were estimated.

The UK’s rankings remained largely the same when EU data was removed from the sample, as shown in Figure 23 below.

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