Irish exporters are used to taking their lumps. Through the financial crisis, Brexit, Covid, global conflicts and now the US tariffs, they’ve learned to adapt. It has also led to them becoming more creative.
“The nature of exporting means companies have learned to adapt and innovate,” says Simon McKeever, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association. “Otherwise they can’t sell. Selling in Ireland is one thing, selling in other parts of the world is something else.”
“That brings innovation, creativity, and best practices into the country. There’s no doubt that exporters contribute significantly to the economic purse around the country.”
That need for flexibility on the part of exports is vital to the State’s economy, in which exporters play a crucial role.
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“If you look at the number of jobs within the sector, both directly and indirectly, we reckon there’s between one million and 1.2 million involved directly and that supports between 300,000 and 400,000 jobs indirectly,” says McKeever.
“A good part of those jobs are in Dublin and Leinster but those roles support jobs in all parts of the country, sometimes in quite regional locations.”
There are several sectors that stand out for McKeever, with the range showing the diversity in the types of export businesses operating in the State.
“Pharma, medical devices and engineering are all well known. Similarly ICT, agri-food and financial products play a role. The sector that should not be forgotten is transport and logistics,” he says.
“That’s a very important part of the export and import industry. Without it, nothing would come in or off the island, but it was only during Brexit and Covid that it came to the fore.”
For all their ability to adapt, it’s often not by choice for exporters. The election of Donald Trump as US president led to the current crisis around tariffs. It’s one that has seen Irish exporters take action.
“The immediate response by a lot of companies was to stockpile goods into the United States, particularly in the first quarter of this year. They were trying to get as much product into the US ahead of any tariffs,” says McKeever.
“Supply-chain diversification has also been looked at. If the US links tariffs to the origin of parts, stripping down the product, that becomes an issue.”
A key reason behind the ability of Irish exporters to endure these kinds of shocks is their willingness to communicate and plan together. This is something McKeever experienced first hand once the tariffs crisis kicked in.
“There was a huge level of engagement both with our members but also with the Government as well, with the export trade council that Simon Harris chairs. That has been an important way for business and Government to work together to solve this problem,” he says.
“A lot of companies engaged quickly with their customers in the US, to establish how the tariffs will be handled.”
Of course, there are markets other than the US and this is something that Irish exporters are increasingly focusing their efforts on to insulate them from region-specific shocks.
“Market diversification tends to come up at times of crisis. When the financial crisis happened, Ireland became more focused on China and the ASEAN markets, covering the likes of India, Indonesia and South Korea,” says McKeever.” That has come up again. We need to diversify our export markets but the US is such a huge part of what we do, that it’s not easy to replace overnight.”
That willingness to examine new markets reflects the agility displayed by Irish exporters when faced with a crisis.
“The more you move into new markets, the better you get at the agility side. There also has to be a fully thought through ‘team Ireland’ approach. There’s a responsibility on organisations like ourselves and others to pass on to the Government what pain points our members have and what they actually need,” says McKeever.
“We’ve been pushing to make sure the Government remains open minded. The goal is to keep these companies open and the people employed stay tied to them.”
McKeever is confident that Irish businesses are focused on getting ahead of problems, having learned each time they’ve encountered turbulent conditions.
“There has been a huge investment in R&D. There has been a huge concentration of innovation. Anybody who got training during Brexit now knows all the customs involved to trade outside the EU,” he says.
“We have adapted and changed to all the things that have been thrown at us.”
Still, there are more ways for the Government to help exporters, including in how it supports its own agencies.
“From a diversification point of view, we’ve got to look at how the likes of Enterprise Ireland helps companies to get into newer and farther fields. We can’t forget about getting business into the US but we need to look more at what is needed for businesses to get into Egypt, Indonesia or China. That requires more resources on the ground,” says McKeever.
“Then there are specific competitive issues in Ireland, like the costs of energy, insurance, housing and infrastructure spending. Companies are screaming about the costs of electricity and insurance in particular.”
The ability of Irish exporters to take their licks is one McKeever says can’t be taken for granted. It requires Government support to remain a factor in export growth.
“Irish businesses remain resilient. We have managed to navigate particularly stormy waters over the last 15 years. Still, the Government needs to keep a watchful eye.”
