Irish exports to the US surge by over 210% in February ahead of tariff announcement

The increase was driven largely by medical and pharmaceutical products

Ireland exported €11.7bn of chemicals and related products to the US. File picture

Irish exports to the US saw a dramatic 210.5% increase during February compared to the same period last year driven largely by medical and pharmaceutical products, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

According to the data, the total unadjusted value of goods exports from Ireland stood at €24.6bn in February - an increase of €8.7bn or 54.3% compared to the same period last year.

Exports of medical and pharmaceutical products alone were valued at €15.6bn - an increase of 146% or €9.2bn year-on-year.

For the second month in a row, the US was Ireland’s largest export market growing by €8.7bn, or 210.5%, compared with the same month last year, to €12.9bn. The US accounted for 52.5% of total export trade in February while they accounted for 26.1% of total exports in the same month last year.

The figures suggest that companies, particularly pharmaceutical companies, were seeking to get as much of their products to the US before president Donald Trump instituted tariffs on other nations.

Ireland exported €11.7bn of chemicals and related products to the US. This category, which includes medical and pharmaceutical products, made up 91% of total exports to the US in February.

Ireland’s second and third largest export market was the Netherlands and Germany, accounting for 7.7% and 6.2% of the country’s exports. Irish exports to the EU during the month declined by nearly €600m to €6.6bn.

The value of goods exports for the first two months of the year increased by €15.5bn to €50.4bn when compared with the same period of 2024.

Ireland’s total imports for the month stood at €11.75bn - a 15% increase year-on-year. The EU accounted for €4.67bn - a 20% increase compared to last year - while the US accounted for €1.955bn - an 18% increase.

Imports from the US made up 16.6%, or €2bn, of Ireland’s total imports during the month while Germany accounted for 12.8% and Britain accounted for 11.6%.

Medical and pharmaceutical products accounted for 17.2% of total imports rising by €922m to €2bn year-on-year. The value of imports made was up 12% to €22.27bn during the first two months of the year.