What Are the Main Exports and Imports of England?

Elliott Brown/CC-BY-SA 2.0

England exports manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, gas turbines, food, beverages and tobacco; it imports machinery and computers. The country also sells and buys manufactured goods, food, fuels, petroleum, cars and medicines.

Since the beginning of the colonial era, foreign trade has been a major component of the British economy. A highly developed industrial nation, England has strong trading relationships with members of the European Union and other countries.

It ranks among the top 10 exporters, shipping more than $436 billion worth of goods annually. England is the leading exporter of diamonds, liquor, radioactive chemicals, antiques, stainless steel ingots, horses, breathing appliances, scrap nickel and lead. The nation’s industries also produce and export machine tools, ships, aircraft, electronics, motor vehicles, coal, and paper products, as well as communications, electric-power, automation and railroad equipment. England’s main export partners are the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Belgium.

England also ranks in the top 10 for import volume at $473.6 billion. The country’s top import partners are Germany, the United States, China, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Belgium, and Italy.