DUBLIN, Feb 16 ― Cross-border trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland saw a huge boost in the first full year after Brexit, official Irish figures released yesterday showed.
The data from Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed imports from Northern Ireland in 2021 increased by €1.5 million (RM9.5 million) to €3.9 million, a dramatic 65-per cent rise on 2020.
In the same period, exports from the Republic of Ireland to the province increased by 54 per cent to €3.7 million.
The rocketing trade will be seen as a direct result of post-Brexit arrangements created by the controversial Northern Ireland protocol.
The arrangement ― part of the UK's divorce deal with the EU ― retained frictionless trade on the island of Ireland by keeping Northern Ireland in the Europe's single market and customs union, but erected an effective trade barrier in the Irish Sea.
The protocol has proved deeply unpopular with Northern Ireland's pro-UK unionist politicians.
They argue checks on goods have negatively impacted trade between mainland Britain ― comprising England, Scotland and Wales ― and Northern Ireland, and driven a constitutional wedge between the province and the rest of the UK.
The CSO's numbers showed a trade deficit of €9.6 million with the rest of the UK, excluding Northern Ireland, in 2021.
Irish imports from Great Britain amounted to €15.4 million, a decrease of €2.4 million, 13 per cent less than in 2020, with exports to Great Britain in 2021 increasing by 17 per cent, according to the CSO.
Earlier this month Paul Givan, the unionist leader of Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive, resigned from his position in protest against the Northern Ireland protocol.
The move plunged the province's politics into disarray ahead of May elections, further complicating post-Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels.
A series of business leaders in Northern Ireland have, however, spoken in support of current arrangements, which have allowed them to keep one foot in the European market. ― AFP
