Despite the politics, Ireland is Israel's second biggest export market for goods
Perhaps the most surprising statistic to tumble out of the ether in recent days – and into Ireland's increasingly fractious debate on the
Occupied Territories Bill
– relates to
Israel
's exports to Ireland.
Figures from the UN's trade database, Comtrade, reveal that Ireland, despite its outspoken stance on Israel, is Tel Aviv's second most important export market for goods behind the US.
The Comtrade figures show Israel exported $61.7 billion worth of merchandise in 2024. The biggest importers of those Israeli products were the US with $17.3 billion, followed by Ireland with $3.3 billion and China with $2.9 billion.
This makes Ireland, Israel's most important European market for goods exports ahead of the Netherlands ($2.7 billion), Germany ($2.4 billion), the UK ($1.6 billion), Belgium ($1.5 billion) and France ($1.4 billion).
READ MORE
The figures provide a curious counterpoint to the frayed diplomatic relations between Dublin and Tel Aviv.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) provisionally estimates that Ireland imported €3.83 billion ($4.4 billion) of goods from Israel last year, which is even higher than Comtrade's estimate.
Over 95 per cent of this trade (€3.65 billion) falls into the 'electrical machinery, apparatus, and appliances' category, the CSO said..
In Comtrade's categorisation, the bulk of the trade is covered by the 8542 category which applies to 'electronic integrated circuits and microassemblies'.
Anecdotal evidence suggests this – in the main – relates to chip manufacturer Intel in Leixlip importing inputs from its sister
Intel
plant in Kiryat Gat, Israel, which would not be affected by the Occupied Territories Bill provisions.
Ireland's dialled-up rhetoric against Israel (Taoiseach Micheál Martin now explicitly accuses it of genocide, having previously accused it of 'genocidal acts') sits uneasily with the economy's links to corporate America.
However, apart from a warning from former US ambassador to Ireland, Claire Cronin, last year that Ireland's proposed Occupied Territories Bill (banning the sale or import of goods from illegally occupied Palestinian territory) would have 'consequences', both the US and Ireland have largely ignored their potential point of division, perhaps to Israel's annoyance.
Government sources claim Ireland's business ties with the US 'aren't overly strained' by the Government's stance on Israel and that tariffs are the main focus at present.
With Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu now lashing out at allies France, Britain and Canada, accusing them of being 'on the wrong side of history' and 'emboldening Hamas' for criticising Tel Aviv, Ireland's stance has more political cover.
Shifting global opinion
Last month, EU foreign ministers from 17 member states (a majority) backed a Dutch proposal to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the free trade agreement that allows Israel sell some €15 billion a year of arms, wine, cosmetics and other items to Europe on preferential terms.
This marked something of a turning point in the bloc's attitude to Israel. A year ago, when Ireland and Spain, the European governments most vocal about Israel's actions in Gaza, pushed for a review, they garnered little support.
But Israel's three-month blockade of Gaza, stopping food and aid getting into the Palestinian enclave, has burnt through the political capital Israel traditionally has with the EU and with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen who has – until now -sought to preserve EU-Israeli ties.
In a marked difference in tone last week, she described Israel's attacks on civilians as 'abhorrent' and something that 'cannot be justified under humanitarian and international law'.
The EU's review will examine whether Israel is in breach of article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which defines respect for human rights as an 'essential element' of the agreement.
Given the scale of Israeli atrocities in Gaza, backed by findings from the UN, international courts and other agencies, it's hard to see how Israel could not be found to be in breach.
The review might be complete before the next EU foreign ministers' meeting on June 23rd, creating a potential flashpoint in EU-Israeli relations.
How EU sanctions against Isreal – if it comes to that – will wash with the US and impact delicate trade negotiations is impossible to say.
The EU as a bloc is Israel's largest trading partner, accounting for 29 per cent of its trade in goods in 2022, so trade sanctions would be consequential for Tel Aviv.
But insiders suggest that while the review will be critical of Israel, the EU will resist going down the sanctions route given the opposition to those in some quarters.
Hungary, which intends to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC) in protest at its issuing of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, recently hosted the Israeli prime minister on a state visit despite of and in defiance of the warrant.
'I don't think EU sanctions will be forthcoming in the short term. There isn't unanimity for this,' a Government source said, albeit noting that negative noise among EU member states is growing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
UN committee calls for greater Traveller representation in Irish politics
Low levels of political representation among Traveller and Roma women in Ireland have been criticised during a Government delegation's appearance before a United Nations committee. Ireland was examined on Friday by a UN committee on women's rights with regard to its compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Ireland last faced questioning by the Geneva-based CEDAW committee in 2017. The delegation also heard calls for guarantees to protect the human rights of sex workers, an assessment of the number of victims of child trafficking, and for complete restorative justice in relation to the mother and baby home redress scheme. The marginalisation of migrant, Traveller and Roma women dominated concerns voiced by the CEDAW committee, which consists of 23 human rights experts, with employment levels and political representation among topics raised. The implementation of education strategies addressing sexism and gender stereotyping was also discussed by the delegation. READ MORE Committee vice-chairperson Marianne Mikko said that Ireland had 'not produced meaningful representation' of minority women in politics. Ms Mikko highlighted Government failure 'to adopt legislative quotas which accelerate the participation of minority women in political and public life', as called on by the last committee in 2017. ' One Traveller woman in the senate is good but not sufficient,' she said. Speaking as a representative of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality , Lisa Hughes outlined some initiatives the State has taken to increase the inclusion of Traveller and Roma women in public life. Ms Hughes said: 'A specific action to promote the participation of Traveller and Roma women in political and community participation is included in the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy, published last year.' She added that a policy paper was discussed at the steering committee of the strategy when it met on May 21st last year 'to look at the Roma capacity to engage with policymaking'. In her opening statement, committee rapporteur Jelena Pia-Comella said the committee 'remains concerned at the lack of rights based investigations and reparations to the survivors of abuse' in mother and baby homes, Magdalene laundries, schools, residential institutions and survivors of the practice of symphysiotomy . Responding to concerns raised surrounding the scope of the mother and baby redress scheme, Carol Baxter, assistant secretary justice from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality said that payments given to date 'range in nature from €11,000-100,000, so they very much reflect the fact that people who were in Magdalene institutions often had very difficult experiences there'. Ms Baxter confirmed that the scheme is available to people living abroad 'and has always been', when asked. 'The State has been very conscious of the need for a proactive approach to make sure that the broadest number of women qualify,' said Ms Baxter, adding that it had commissioned senior counsel Mary O'Toole to look at cases where there was a dispute over the length of stay in the institutions. The committee were told that Ms O'Toole reviewed 231 cases and 'already has recommended additional payments', and in a majority of cases payments have been made. Her report has been finalised and will be published very shortly, Ms Baxter said.
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Gaza facing drought
The UN children's agency UNICEF is warning that the Strip is facing a man-made drought - as its water systems collapse amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment. Juliette Touma Communications Director with the UN's Palestinian agency UNWRA joins Paul Cunningham to discuss.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Former Ires activist Vision to lose one board nominee as it cuts stake below 3%
Ires Reit shareholder Vision Capital, which secured board seats for two nominees last year to resolve a standoff with the company, is on track to see one of those representatives step down after it reduced its holding in the business below 3 per cent. Toronto-based Vision, led by Jeff Olin, started a year-long campaign in April 2023 for a sale or break-up of Ireland's largest private apartments owner . It reached a truce 14 months ago that resulted in two candidates it put forward joining the Dublin-listed company's board. Vision owned about 5 per cent of the stock at the time. The two directors were one-time chief operating officer of Canada's CIBC Bank Richard Nesbitt and Amy Freedman, an investment banker turned corporate consultant. They were part of a unanimous board conclusion last August, following a strategic review, that a sale or break-up of the company would not be in investors' best interests. Vision subsequently cut its stake in Ires, which is led by chief executive Eddie Byrne . Last September, its shareholding fell below 4 per cent and it reduced its holding further on Tuesday to 2.96 per cent, according to stock exchange filings. READ MORE The standstill agreement between Ires and Vision last year provides that Ms Freedman would step down from the board if the investment firm's stake were to fall below 3 per cent. Shares in Ires, which has 3,734 residential units in Dublin, have rebounded almost 16 per cent so far this year to €1.05, driven by falling European Central Bank (ECB) interest rates which have boosted investor appetite for property stocks. Still, the stock has pulled back by about 5 per cent from highs reached earlier this month as investors digest the Government's planned reform of rent controls . A planned new nationwide control system – set to fully kick in from March 2026 – would see rent increases for tenancies capped in most cases by inflation or a maximum cap of 2 per cent. However, landlords would be able to reset rents at the going market rate when a tenant leaves. Smaller landlords with three or fewer units will have to offer rolling six-year tenancies, while large ones will not be able to evict a tenant who has complied with their obligations except in very limited circumstances. Rent control for new apartments constructed following enactment of the legislation would be linked to inflation without the 2 per cent cap. This, the Government said, should 'provide certainty, clarity and encourage investment'.
