Enterprise Ireland Recalls Staff in Drive to New Markets

Enterprise Ireland is having their own Brexit. The government organization is encouraging their various offices around the world to seek alternative markets to Britain. This is a strange action from a country that is so tightly connected to Britain. Although Ireland has been progressively slowing down trade with the UK for some time now. For instance, in 2005 the UK accounted for 45% of Ireland’s exports, while in 2015 it was down to 37%. Now, Ireland wants to decrease the amount they export to Britain even more.

What’s Brexit have to do with Ireland?

Brexit stands for British Exit. The UK earlier this summer voted to leave the EU, which sent the world into an economic panic. One reason is because the trade agreements between Britain and member countries of the EU, like Ireland, have to change. This has sent alarm throughout the British isles as well. Many British enterprises are attempting to move to Dublin in order to stay in the English speaking part of the EU. There is also an abundance of British citizens applying for Irish Citizenships. This is not a good sign for the post Brexit relationship of Ireland and Britain.

Ireland and Britain’s new relationship

Although Enterprise Ireland is advocating for exporters to explore new markets, they know the UK is still an important market for many of Ireland’s top vendors. A managing partner of Enterprise Ireland, Shaun Murphy said, “The Irish/ UK economic relationship is unique in that we share a land border. It's in everyone's interests that the trading relationship between the EU and the UK remains business friendly.” These are reassuring words during a very uncertain economic time. However, the financial circumstances surrounding Britain has many nervous. Irish sellers are worried that since the sterling is devalued compared to the Euro, they will get priced out of the markets by cheaper domestic options.

Ireland’s strategy

Enterprise Ireland wants their clients to decrease the risk of their businesses by having a diverse client base. They wish to aggressively push expansion into large markets like the US and China. They are looking to exploit growth areas like exporting food to China.

A Sign of hope

Brexit has sent ripples through America’s neighbor across the pond. The British economy is weaker than it was before it voted to leave the EU. However, UK VC firms are saying they are open for business. This is a promising barometer for a nation that has a lot of uncertainty lingering over its economy. UK tech companies have some notoriously success stories like Swiftkey and DeepMind, but they need more. The British economy will become stronger with the development of their tech industry, which will allow countries like Ireland to export more into the UK.

Conclusion

Britain and Ireland have been close trading partners for a long time. Both countries have benefited from the open boarders that the EU provides its members. However, Brexit has now complicated the entire situation. Ireland has published a contingency plan, where they have said Brexit will not affect their budget for the fiscal year of 2016 to 2017, nevertheless many experts anticipate that the country’s budget will be negatively altered. With more time, the world will be able to tell if Britain’s decision to leave the EU will really influence Ireland and other countries. For now, Enterprise Ireland is making the correct business decision by attempting to create space between their clients and England. When Britain left the EU, there were many doubts about what was going to happen to the country’s economy, but there seems to be clear consensus- countries are separating themselves from the UK.