Fears of hit to Irish trade from hard Brexit

A key figure behind Ireland’s international growth ambitions has raised concerns that a hard Brexit could dent the country’s trade with Scotland.

Kevin Sherry, executive director at Enterprise Ireland with responsibility for global business development, said Scottish companies would find themselves in a “very difficult situation” if the UK left the trading bloc without a Brexit deal and punishing World Trade Organisation tariffs were applied to exports.

He told The Scotsman: “Brexit or no Brexit, the relationships and trade between Ireland and Scotland are fundamental to companies in both jurisdictions. If there wasn’t a deal and WTO tariffs were applied, that would be a very difficult situation.”

Enterprise Ireland is a government agency that aims to help Irish companies build international trade, and Sherry said exports to the UK total morethan€7.5billion(£6.6bn) a year. Scottish exports to Ireland total more than £1bn.

He added: “Growth of Irish companies’ exports to Scotland is outperforming those to England, growing by 13 per cent last year. Those companies are continuing to embed themselves in Scotland for the long term and increase their employment levels.”

Sherry said the food and drink sector was “very important” to Ireland, with beef alone accounting for more than €1bn of its exports. The country is the world’s sixthlargest exporter of beef.

He added: “Ireland also imports quite a bit of Scotch whisky and related products, and that’s a good example of trade in both directions.” 0 Kevin Sherry warned of ‘very difficult situation’