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 .
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