Ireland caught between an EU rock and a Brexit hard place

A report from the German Chambers of Commerce Worldwide and the German-Irish Chamber of Commerce concludes that of all the EU members, Ireland has most to lose from a hard Brexit and based on the level of trade between Ireland and the UK it is hard to disagree with that conclusion, writes Dr Declan Jordan of UCC.

However, while Brexit is likely, on average, to be negative for the Irish economy, there is too much uncertainty about the Brexit process to estimate the precise effects.

Ireland and the UK share approximately €1 billion in trade every day. The impact of, at best, currency fluctuations and, at worst, the imposition of tariffs will be substantial and damaging. Brexit will be painful for the Irish economy, and the harder the Brexit the more pain we can expect.