Ms Vikki Brennan:

The UK’s notification to leave the EU has now launched a two-year negotiating period. Thousands of issues and deals will be hammered out over the next 24 months, including a review and rewrite of all trade deals. Free trade was guaranteed when the UK was part of the EU and its customs union, but this may not be the case in the future.

The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, said she wants to secure full access for UK companies to the Single Market. Proudly Made in Africa has called on her Government to prioritise trade deals with developing nations to ensure no worse conditions in market access for some of the world’s poorest countries. The UK can significantly reduce uncertainty for traders in sub-Saharan African countries by committing to maintaining zero-tariff and zero-quota trade.

If a deal cannot be hammered out, the UK would fall back on World Trade Organization’s rules and tariffs. This would mean value added products, such as beverages, fruit, confectionary and clothing, the products which have the most power to lift communities out of poverty when traded, will be some of the hardest hit in terms of the WTO-set tariffs.

Proudly Made in Africa asserts that Ireland is best placed to capitalise on these uncertain times by becoming a hub for sub-Saharan imports. This would contribute to the State fulfilling its commitments on two-way trade with Africa, advance the SDGs, sustainable development goals, and meet its own goal of building new alliances and export markets. The fear of losing the UK as our largest export market could be mitigated by finding these new partners and diversifying trade with them.

We could trade more with nations that are not only really eager and ready to trade, but which need desperately to do so to improve their development.

The overall message is that it is imperative that Ireland upholds its commitment to two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa. A more cohesive approach is needed to the published works such as the contingency framework and the island connective strategy, which pushes for imports as well as drives exports. A focus on non-indidgenous imports to Ireland especially from developing nations presents no major competition to Irish exports. A simultaneous focus on imports as well as exports from Ireland enables our exports to enjoy reduced logistics, speedier lead times and increased goods movements and stimulates industry and job growth, both for Ireland and its trade partners. For developing nations, increased trade complements Ireland's aid programme and further progresses our own development aims sustainably.

Brexit presents an opportunity for Ireland to establish itself as an entry point to the EU and a consolidation point to the USA for tariff-free goods from sub-Saharan Africa. Ireland is best placed to be a leader in this area having already established MNC networks and receptive Ireland-based diplomatic missions from sub-Saharan Africa as well as an increasingly broad embassy network in Africa. We have the largest African cargo operator with a hub in Dublin and we also have the largest operator looking to make a hub. We have Shannon and everyone is watching to get an export route to the USA. Ireland is best placed to provide it. Targeting the growth of African value-added imports to diversify trade away from the traditional basic agricultural products will facilitate faster wealth creation in developing economies through the trade of increased value items. That means the development targets to which Ireland has committed have a chance to be realised.