Mercosur beef trade deal will test Ireland's diplomacy skills
Politics in the UK has taken on the attributes of an elongated version of Fawlty Towers.
A growing number of Basil lookalikes are competing to rip the UK out of the EU.
In the process, insults are flying with the French getting a dose of ungentlemanly language last week.
Ireland was called out for its intransigence at a Conservative summer party and World War 2 klaxons were triggered at a Brexit get together.
While few of those involved have the interest or patience, they should spend time studying the term Mercosur.
Last week, after years of painstaking negotiations the EU and a group of Latin American countries struck a huge trade deal.
It creates a market of 800 million people in which goods and services can be traded largely tariff free.
For an Irish company, a new market of almost 300 million people across the Atlantic is opened up if the deal is approved.
For many large businesses across Europe and Latin America this is a major breakthrough that has been fought for over a long time.
Brexiteers would be well advised to closely watch if Mercosur approval can be reached.
Ireland and France have genuine concerns about their beef industries.
Some Latin American countries are uncomfortable, too, and a unanimous agreement among the countries involved is needed.
All of that will be a major challenge and it underlines the obstacles ahead for the UK if it does leave the EU.
Any future deal for Britain will need unanimous approval around Europe and based on the nasty rhetoric issued towards various countries by the Brexit gang good luck with that.
Ireland needs to keep a steady course as the weeks and months ahead unfold.
It is, undoubtedly, going to get rough as we move into Autumn and pressure points build around the backstop and the withdrawal agreement.
It will test the relationship between Ireland and the rest of the EU like never before.
Staying true to the core of the EU has already delivered hugely for Ireland and promises to do even more.
You may have noticed the IDA is on a rip since the UK referendum, with many globally-mobile companies picking Ireland as their choice location to access the EU market.
Trade deals agreed with Japan and Canada, together with the looming Mercosur agreement, further enhance the market opportunity for both indigenous and international companies working from Ireland.
Record low unemployment and all-time low-interest rates cannot be disentangled from our EU participation.
These things matter in a country where generations had to emigrate due to the absence of strong employment opportunities at home.
It is, therefore, critical that we engage with the Mercosur process carefully.
There is no doubt that the beef industry, in particular, needs special attention as this process moves forward.
I suspect, however, that the larger prize of an 800 million consumer market will weigh heavily in Berlin, Paris and Madrid. These are the allies we need to keep close as Brexit evolves.
France is the key counter party with whom we should respond to Mercosur. It, too, has an important and vocal farming lobby who will need answers about market access and pricing.
It has been a country that has provided solid support to us on Brexit from early days.
Ireland has proven itself a deft operator in diplomacy on many issues, not least Brexit itself.
The backstop has been secured thanks to widespread support across Europe despite it being a lightening rod for Brexiteers.
It will again be tested as the Conservative Party prepares for another flurry of lobbying after the summer.
I suspect, in the middle of that, how we manage Mercosur will play a part in the way Ireland’s relationship with both the UK and the rest of Europe develops from 2020 onwards.
