Ireland - International trade

Ireland has achieved the highest trade surplus relative to GDP in the EU and is in the top 20 exporting countries in the world. In 1999, the total value of the country's exports recorded a huge surplus, reaching I£44.8 billion, against imports of I£20.63 billion. The balance of trade between exports and imports continued the strong upward trend from I£13.7 billion (25 percent of GDP) in 1998 to I£24.17 billion in 1999. Figures from the first half of 2000 indicated a further increase. However, despite a robust 24 percent growth in export rates in 2000, trends indicated that import growth rates in response to high consumer demand would exceed export growth rates in 2000-01, thus threatening the surplus in the long run. The EU (including the UK) remains Ireland's most important export market. In 1998, export revenues from the EU accounted for 67 percent (I£30.27 billion) of total exports, with the UK contributing almost I£10 billion, or 22 percent of the total. Germany (14.6 percent), France, Italy, and the Netherlands are the other key European destinations, while the United States accounted for I£6.14 billion (13.7 percent) in 1998. Given the weak euro and the presence of many U.S. multi-nationals in Ireland, there are indications that the United States is set to become Ireland's biggest export market. Exports to U.S. markets increased by 54 percent to I£6.8 billion in the first 6 months of 2000. Exports to the UK, a non-euro zone, also increased by 22 percent during this period to I£6.9 billion. Ireland is a major center of computer manufacture, with

Trade (expressed in billions of US$): Ireland
	exports	Imports
1975	3.193	3.778
1980	8.398	11.153
1985	10.358	10.020
1990	23.743	20.669
1995	44.250	32.638
1998	63.959	44.355
SOURCE: International Monetary Fund. International Financial Statistics Yearbook 1999.

U.S.-owned corporations such as Dell conducting operations there. The high-tech sectors recorded Ireland's largest export increases in 2000, with computer equipment leading the field at I£8.1 billion. The export of organic chemicals was valued at I£7.3 billion, and electronic machinery at I£2.9 billion. Chemicals, transport equipment, and machinery (including computers) accounted for 80 percent of the increase in exports between 1993 and 1997. While foreign multinationals dominate these sectors, there are positive signs of increasing domestic production in high tech manufacturing industries, such as the production of chemicals, software development, optical equipment, and electronic equipment. The production of electronic equipment and optical equipment supplied 9.2 percent of domestic exports in 1997. However, exports represented only 34 percent of domestic manufacture, while up to 90 percent of foreign-owned company output was exported. In 1997, food and livestock remained the fourth largest export commodities, with food, drink, and tobacco together accounting for an important, though declining, percentage of indigenous exports (53.9 percent, down from 61.9 percent in 1991). Fuel, lubricants, and crude materials also remain important.

The value of imports has increased rapidly, from I£13.1 billion in 1998 to I£34.66 billion in 1999. Their value for the first 6 months of 2000 was at I£20.7 billion, recording a 25 percent increase. Once again, the high-tech sector dominated, with imports of computer equipment increasing by 28 percent and manufacturing industry inputs by 26 percent. Imports of road vehicles also increased dramatically during this period. Despite the weak euro, the UK and the United States remain Ireland's largest sources of imports, both supplying goods in the first half of 2000, showing an increase in volume of 20 percent. Machinery and transport equipment dominated the volume of imports and accounted for I£15.7 billion in 1998, with chemicals and miscellaneous manufacturing goods accounting for I£3.4 billion each. Food and live animals accounted for the next largest share in total import value at I£1.8 billion in 1998. Live animals are both imported and exported. A factor distinguishing

Exchange rates: Ireland
Irish pounds per US$1
Jan 2001	1.0658
2000	1.0823
1999	0.9374
1998	0.7014
1997	0.6588
1996	0.6248
SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2001 [ONLINE].

Ireland from its 10 euro-zone partners is its relatively low volume of trade within the euro zone—20 percent of imports and 45 percent of exports in 1998. Current trends do not predict a rapid change in this pattern.