Brexit deal led to 'considerable' jump in imports from the North: ESRI

The greatest driver of the reduction in Irish imports from Britain can be traced to a Brexit effect, says ESRI.

The Brexit deal struck almost a year ago has led to a sharp decline in imports in goods across the Irish Sea into Ireland from Britain, while imports from the North have increased considerably, new research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) confirms. 

The study goes further than other conventional analyses by separating out the effects of the Covid pandemic from the consequences of the so-called EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement, which was signed at the 11th hour on Christmas Eve last year. 

“Although many supply chain challenges have come together since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the greatest driver of the reduction in Irish imports from Britain can be traced to a Brexit effect," said ESRI research professor Martina Lawless, who co-wrote the report with Eimear Flynn and Janez Kren.  

"There has been a less substantial impact on exporters so far and continued good news coming from the deferral of customs checks on goods moving from Ireland to Great Britain which had been due to be introduced in January," the professor said.

The share of imports from the North in total imports for Ireland increased to 5% from 1.5% after the Brexit deal, and imports originating in the North now account for 40% of imports in Ireland from the whole of the UK.