§ 23. Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the benefits to British manufacturing of membership of the European Union. [115682]
§ Mrs. LiddellFor British business, the greatest of all benefits of our membership of the EU is being part of the European single market. This gives all UK manufacturers access to the largest single market in the world—a market of nearly 380 million consumers.
Almost 60 per cent. of the UK's trade, worth nearly £120 billion a year, is with the EU. In addition we attract a huge amount of inward investment as a gateway to the single market, for countries outside the EU.