PREPARING FOR POST-BREXIT TRADE
Doing business in the Republic of Ireland post-Brexit
ith the Republic of Ireland coming to terms with the reality that it is on the
Wverge of becoming the only English speaking country in the EU( apart from Malta), many have been scrambling to work out exactly what this means for business on a crossborder basis.
It is said that the Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ' crisis '. One brush stroke stands for danger, the other stroke stands for opportunity.
Amidst the current political hysteria over the potential for a hard border, business people in Northern Ireland who might operate on a cross border basis should take a step back and consider what opportunities there may be.
There is undoubtedly, significant potential in being the only part of the UK to share a physical land border with the largest trading bloc in the world – namely, the EU.
From food processors and distributors to manufacturers and construction companies, there are any number of Northern Ireland companies that operate on both sides of the border and have wider links to the rest of the EU.
Indeed, a significant proportion of Ireland ' s largest companies are based in the North. Now that Article 50 has been triggered, negotiations will begin in earnest to discuss the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.
Irrespective of the content of those negotiations or their outcome, one thing is certain, business will continue on a cross border basis in some form or another.
How to ensure market access for your business to the EU
Certainly, it may be that Northern Ireland companies that have been doing business in the Republic for many years may now take the strategic decision to establish a base of operations in the South.
In such circumstances, it will be important to receive clear and detailed advice from Republic of Ireland corporate lawyers in relation to how best to approach such a decision.
The construction industry
Construction companies, in particular, should be very encouraged by the magnitude of building work currently taking place in Dublin. Multinationals are moving en masse to Dublin to establish EU headquarters. With a high demand for office space, new offices blocks are popping up across the city.
This will surely result in some Northern Ireland firms making the journey south for the first time in order to tender for new works. Those coming to do business in the Republic for the first time should be aware that the regime for construction has some subtle but important differences to the UK, which would warrant Irish legal advice on payment practices, for example.
by Jamie Ritchie, a native of Northern Ireland, now based in Dublin with Irish law firm LK Shields.
Public contracts and procurement
Last but not least, are those Northern Irish companies that benefit from being the incumbents under existing Irish and EU public contracts.
At present, any company based in the EU can tender for public contracts in any member state across the EU as long as they meet certain criteria.
In doing so, they enjoy special protections on a Europewide basis, including nondiscrimination and freedom to provide goods and services.
Such protections in terms of market access are not to be sniffed at. According to the European Commission, over 250,000 public authorities spend around 14 per cent of the EU’ s total GDP on the purchase of services, works and supplies.
This literally translates into a market of trillions of Euros. To clarify, this represents the public sector only. Indeed, according to the IMF, the total GDP of the EU in 2016 including the private sector was in excess of € 16.5 trillion, that is almost a quarter of global GDP.
Nevertheless, it is important to contrast this with companies that are domiciled outside of the EU and tender for public work within the EU. These companies are said to be from a ' third country '.
That is to say, that they are from a country which has not concluded an agreement with the EU in relation to public procurement specifically.
One would certainly hope that any Brexit deal would address this point. However, given the sheer number of items on the agenda during the negotiations and more particularly, the apparent desire of elements within Brussels to be tough on the UK, this may not be as clear cut as one would hope.
Indeed, companies currently tendering from outside ' fortress Europe ' face far greater hurdles than their EU counterparts. This may be another good reason for NI companies to consider now as being the right time to establish a presence in the Republic.
Jamie Ritchie is an Associate with LK Shields in Dublin. If you are interested in learning more, then please feel free to contact Jamie at jritchie @ lkshields. ie or visit www. lkshields. ie
Please note, that LK Shields Solicitors is a firm regulated by the Law Society of Ireland and provides advice exclusively in relation to issues arising under the laws of the Republic of Ireland. Furthermore, LK Shields is not regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland and for the avoidance of doubt, LK Shields in no way provides legal advice on Northern Irish law issues.
10 www. businessfirstonline. co. uk