UK trade deficit widens as exports slip The dip in export values was driven by falling sales of cars to countries outside the European Union, including the United States, China and Russia. Exports of oil, capital and intermediate goods to non-EU countries also fell. Overall export volumes fell sharply on the month, but were still 0.5 percent higher in the three months to February when compared to the previous three month period, while imports were down 2 percent. Recent surveys and economic data indicated that Britain may have just skirted recession, returning to moderate growth inthe first three months of 2012 after a contraction at the end of 2011. However, a sharp slowdown in Britain's main trading partner, the euro zone, could still weigh on exporters' prospects, though some business surveys have shown that orders from outside Europe keep flowing in.