Trade between Ireland and the UK continued to expand in 2022, despite outstanding issues over trading arrangements for Northern Ireland following Brexit.
(Bloomberg) — Trade between Ireland and the UK continued to expand in 2022, despite outstanding issues over trading arrangements for Northern Ireland following Brexit.
The value of imports to Ireland from mainland Great Britain rose 55% in 2022 from 2021, while exports climbed 19%, according to trade data from the Central Statistics Office. Imports from Northern Ireland over the period climbed 32% and exports to the region increased 31%.
The figures come as the UK and EU remain locked in negotiations over post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland following years of often fraught talks. Officials are close to finding solutions at a technical level covering most pending issues, including on customs, state aid and sanitary checks on agri-food goods, Bloomberg recently reported.
The original Brexit deal signed in 2020 kept the region within the EU customs union in order to avoid creating a hard border on the island of Ireland. However, Northern Irish unionists and the UK government have objected to its disruption to trade within the UK and and its creation of a border within a sovereign country.
Overall, imports into Ireland rose 35% over the year, while exports increased 26%, both reaching record levels.
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