Trade between GB and NI sees billion pound boost in wake of the NI Protocol

Trade between GB and NI has seen a more than billion pound bump – up by 7% a year after the NI Protocol was introduced.

Trade flowing both ways has increased between NI and GB thanks to the NI Protocol despite the DUP claiming otherwise 

              December 14th, 2022. 

Fresh figures show the value of GB sales rose to £14.4bn in 2021.

Meanwhile, sales from NI to GB increased by £1.5bn to £12.8bn in 2021, up 13.1% over the year, according to the latest figures from the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

And overall, total sales by North of Ireland companies increased by 13.6% (£9.2bn). That meant sales rising to £77.1bn in 2021 – the largest value of total sales on record, not taking inflation into account.

Concerns had been raised by some corners that companies elsewhere in the UK were no longer, or reducing their sales into NI, because of the NI Protocol – the mechanism in place to keep NI in the EU single market for trade in goods, but leading to some additional checks between here and GB.

Meanwhile, the total value of external sales here increased by 14.5%.

“The total value of external sales by NI companies was estimated to be worth £24.9bn in 2021,” according to NISRA.

“This represents an increase of 14.5% (£3.2bn) over the year in current prices, compared to a decrease in the previous year of 3.6%.”

And trade with Republic made up 6.7% of total sales and 6.3% of total purchases.

“Sales of goods and services to Ireland made up 6.7% (£5.2bn) of total sales (£77.1bn),” according to NISRA.

“Of this, 74.7% (£3.9bn) related to the sale of goods and 25.3% (£1.3bn) to the sale of services.

“The Covid-19 pandemic had a major impact on the economy during 2020, due to lockdown measures being introduced to mitigate its spread and prolonged periods of business closures. This should be borne in mind when considering the change in trade estimates between 2020 and 2021.”

But it said “when the figures are viewed in the broader picture of trends observed over the past number of years, the 2021 figures broadly align with what might reasonably have been expected were it not for the impact of the pandemic in 2020”.

The SDLP’s Brexit spokesman, Matthew O’Toole MLA, said: “This data should finally put to bed the idea that Protocol is ruining the Northern Irish economy, or even that it has severely dented trade between GB and NI. For nearly two years, DUP politicians and British ministers have exaggerated and distorted the effect of the protocol on trade flows and business across the Irish Sea.

“By contrast the SDLP has been calling for a specific strategy to promote the benefits of dual market access which gives businesses who locate here a competitive advantage that should be used to enhance our economy and generate new jobs.”

With many thanks to the: Belfast Telegraph and John Mulgrew for the original story. 

Follow these links to find out more on this story: BREXIT and the DUP has guaranteed there is no path back to the previous NI status quo before Brexit

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Trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland sees billion pound boost in wake of the NI Protocol

“The DUP portrait of themselves as defenders of the GFA is enough to make a cat laugh enough to cough up a hairball.”~Fionnuala O’Connor☕️🥐