Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

45. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the impact of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on food exports to the UK; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26467/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The EU – UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) has now been fully ratified by the European Council and the European Parliament, having been provisionally applied since 1st January 2021.

The TCA avoids the worst outcomes of a No Deal Brexit. It ensures that there are no tariffs or quotas on goods of EU and UK origin traded between the EU and the UK. However, since 1 January 2021, the UK is outside the EU Single Market and Customs Union. This means new procedures apply for businesses moving goods to, from or through the UK, excluding Northern Ireland.

The Department is keeping a close eye on trade volumes since 1st January. As the Deputy will be aware, monthly trade figures are very volatile. No firm conclusions can be drawn about the impact of Brexit on trade flows between Ireland and the UK based on statistics for the initial period post-transition. Proper analysis requires reviewing data over a longer period of time in order to make a definitive assessment of post-Brexit trade flow patterns.

A number of factors need to be assessed, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the stockpiling of goods in late 2020, and the challenges of complying with new customs and regulatory requirements at the end of the Brexit transition period.