The impact of Brexit on trading with Europe has been laid bare by official figures revealing that UK trade in goods with EU countries has plunged by nearly a quarter. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that total trade in goods with EU countries tumbled by 23.1 percent in the first quarter of 2021, compared with the same quarter in 2018—seen as the last stable trading period. But, in the same period, trading with countries outside the EU edged back by a far less dramatic 0.8 percent in a sign of the toll taken by Brexit disruption and the ending of the transition period. Trade with Ireland and Germany has taken the biggest knock, with exports to Ireland—one of the UK’s top five exporting partners—tanking by 47.3 percent between December and January. Imports from Germany, which is the UK’s largest EU trading partner, dropped 30.5 percent or £1.7 billion …