UK's Hammond Discusses Opportunities of Post-Brexit Trade With Largest Exporters

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond held a meeting on Monday with country's largest exporters and discussed the trade opportunities after UK's exit from the European Union, the government press service said.

LONDON (Sputnik) — According to the press release, the chancellor hosted senior executives from some of UK's major exporters including Honda Motor Europe, GSK, and Airbus Group UK.

"Britain has always been a great trading nation. We must do everything we can to help British businesses stay globally competitive as we prepare to thrive outside the EU. That means reminding the world that Britain is open for business and is committed to building strong trade and investment ties with key partners beyond the EU including China and the US," Hammond said, as quoted by the press service.

According to Hammond, the UK exports currently amount to over $660 billion.

In 2015, the United Kingdom exported goods and services worth nearly $400 billion to countries outside the European Union, and UK's exports to China, in particular, have increased by nearly seven times over the past 15 years, the government statistics reveals.

On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit.