The Port Geography of UK International Trade

Abstract

This paper examines how the geography of UK international trade has changed since the United Kingdom's accession to the European Economic Community, using a newly constructed dataset that gives a detailed breakdown of the United Kingdom's imports and exports by both port of entry and exit and commodity. Our results suggest that between 1970 and 1992 overall imports and exports reorientated in favour of ports located nearer to the continent. The vast majority of individual commodities also saw a similar reorientation. Our results point to an important role for market access in determining the geography of UK trade.