IEA Submission: EU Trade and Investment Review

The Irish Exporters Association welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the European Commission’s major review of its trade and investment policy. Since 1951, the Association has supported our members in bringing their products and services to world markets. Ireland’s membership of the European Union (EU) is invaluable to Ireland’s small open economy and Irish exporters alike. In June 2020, the Irish Central Statistics Office recorded that the EU accounted for €6,025 million (43%) of total goods exports. This figure demonstrates the importance of the EU market for Irish goods. In turn, Ireland’s access to EU trade agreements brings further benefits for exporters.

The impact of the pandemic, the uncertain trading arrangements with the United Kingdom (UK) from 1^st January 2021 and trade disputes are challenging businesses throughout the EU. Businesses want to plan and implement their strategies; however, uncertainty is compounding business activities. We hope that the European Commission’s trade and investment review will bring some certainty, however, given global trade developments in recent years, we expect that traders will operate under riskier conditions than normal in the short to medium term.

This Association supports the growth and development of international trading businesses based in Ireland and we want to continue to assist these companies through the challenges ahead. We have prepared this submission in partnership with our members and our National Council and have based responses on the themes outlined in the Commission’s consultation paper. This public consultation is an important opportunity for this Association to further support our members in these turbulent trading times.

Read our submission here