The economic relationship that exists between the United States and the Island of Ireland must continue to be maintained at both the macro and micro-market levels. The healthy trade, investment and commerce that exists between these countries, is now rapidly expanding to the opportunities in Northern Ireland as well. Ireland is a very attractive destination for inward investment and now boasts over 600 US owned companies that provide over $61billion of investment while simultaneously providing over 225,000 jobs.
It is also important to note that Irish investment in the United States is continuing to rise at a meteoric pace, making this symbiotic relationship a model for other EU states. This section will be continually updated with more economic, trade and investment data that will serve to further educate our Membership on the key aspects of this significant trade partnership.
Today, nearly 100,000 people are directly employed in over 580 US firms in Ireland accounting for 70% of all IDA supported employment. Indirect employment in sub-supply and community industry & services has been estimated at over 225,000.
Trade & Investments Facts
US companies have a US$61.5b (EUR50b) cumulative stock of investments in Irish based operations (7.6% of all US investment in the EU & 3.5% worldwide-over double that invested in the Peoples Republic of China.
The US accounts for between 60-70% of Ireland’s inward investment in 2005. Analysed at a sectoral level, Ireland is the premier location worldwide for US FDI in the information sector and fourth worldwide in chemicals. The return on investment (ROI) for US firms in Ireland has been estimated at 19% over the past decade.
During 2006 67% (48/72 projects) of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects into Ireland originated from the US. Ireland’s Industrial Development Authority (IDA) reports that 63% (34/54 projects) of the research and development projects that it supported involved units of US firms in Ireland. Furthermore, the IDA reports that nearly 4 out of every 5 of its projects (78%) outside of the Dublin area were in conjunction with US firms. In 2006, US firms paid over EUR2.4b to the Irish Exchequer in Corporate Tax (or approx 40% of total corporate tax take in 2006) and contributed a further EUR13b in expenditure to the Irish economy in terms of payrolls, goods and services employed in their operations.