How the East of England benefits from the EU... Trade and jobs

The text below has been reproduced from the Liberal Democrats' national website at http://www.libdems.org.uk/europe-eengland

Britain's EU membership is central to the prosperity of the East of England boosting trade and attracting foreign companies to invest here. Staying #INtogether is the best way to protect investment and jobs in the East of England

• Approximately 300,000 jobs in the East Of England, or almost one in every ten, are linked to trade with the EU
• The East of England is hugely dependent on trade with the EU. Overall, businesses in the East of England sell around £11.3bn a year to the European Union, 53.2% of its total exports. 64.6% of the East of England's total imports are from the European Union, worth around £29.2bn. This is the highest share of any region.
• Four out of the region's top five export destinations are in the EU (Germany, Ireland Netherlands and France). With the USA making up the top 5, the anticipated FTA with the USA will unlock serious potential and be of great benefit to the region's businesses.
• In the last 5 years there have been 132 investment projects from the EU in the East of England, creating or protecting almost 7500 jobs, that's over one third of all foreign investment projects in the East of England in that time.