Country to country, business to business  way forward for  trade?

Ireland has forged direct arrangements with China, Malaysia, and Japan at a time when globalisation and free-trade agreements have promoted inequality in richer nations

There are many examples of exemplary trade developments created without the need for formal, regional free-trade agreements. Picture: David Creedon  

Then British prime minister William Pitt’s proposal for a free-trade agreement between Britain and Ireland was rejected in 1785 by the Irish parliament. To judge by the Irish farmers' reaction to the EU trade agreement with New Zealand, that deal would have been rejected, too. 

Free-trade agreements in the EU have never been given a smooth ride by the farming community, who maintain that every trade deal increases competition for Irish and EU farmers. The free-trade deal with Australia, which has been in the making since 2018, will not happen any time soon, the latest attempt to wrap things up falling apart in dramatic fashion last year, with the EU market opening to beef and dairy being the stumbling block.