The value of Irish exports went up by 16.4 per cent last year to a record €260.3 billion, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.
Exports to the United States were a driver in this increase, with many companies front-loading exports to the country ahead of US president Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs announcement last April.
The figures, which are preliminary, show the value of goods exported increased by €36.6 billion in the year when adjusted for seasonal factors.
Ireland’s top trading partners were the United States, the Netherlands, and Belgium, as the country exported €111.7 billion (42.9 per cent), €25.7 billion (9.9 per cent), and €15.8 billion (6.1 per cent) worth of goods to those countries respectively.
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Exports to the US increased by 52 per cent, or €38.2 billion, to €111.7 billion in the year. However, December’s year-on-year exports to the US fell 41.1 per cent to €3.3 billion, reflecting the fluid nature of the trade environment.
Exports of medical and pharmaceutical products, which represented 53.2 per cent of all our exported goods, increased by €38.9 billion, or 39 per cent, to €138.6 billion over the year.
Robert Purdue, senior client portfolio manager at global financial services firm Ebury, said the figures need to be viewed “in context”.
“A significant driver was multinationals front-loading goods exports into the US ahead of tariffs,” he said.
“That helped push exports to the US up 52 per cent across the year, but this momentum may prove difficult to sustain into 2026 as a more restrictive trade environment takes hold.
“Indeed, the sharp 41.1 per cent year-on-year fall in exports to the US in December highlights how quickly flows can shift.”
Carol Lynch, head of customs and international trade services at BDO, said the numbers were “impressive” but also “slightly skewed” by the significant level of US pharmaceutical and related exports, particularly during the early part of the year.
“These exports were at their height before the imposition of the Trump tariffs, particularly in the January to March period, in order to avoid any risk of a 25 per cent or 50 per cent tariff or worse being imposed,” she said.
“We are now seeing US exports re-adjust in December 2025, reducing by 41 per cent versus December 2024, with the reduction particularly occurring in pharmaceuticals and chemicals (over 50 per cent) following the trend from November.”
However, she added that the scale of Ireland’s exposure to US trade policy and its knock-on impact on global trade rules “remains stark”.
“Almost 43 per cent of our exports in 2025 were to the US,” she said. “The value of Irish exports to the EU of chemicals and related products was almost €60 billion. At the same time, the same product exports to the US were almost €95 billion.
“While some of the uplift reflected stockpiling ahead of anticipated tariff changes in early 2025, the figures nonetheless underline a central truth: Ireland’s economic performance is heavily dependent on the US market.
“As a result, US trade policy now plays an outsized role in shaping Irish economic outcomes and our understanding of the rules around accessing the US market is becoming increasingly critical.”
Lynch said companies can no longer afford to operate on the assumption that instability is temporary.
“Instead, resilience and agility have become essential board-level attributes rather than operational buzzwords,” she said. “The challenge is to translate those qualities into practical, structured action.
“As the certainty or rules-based order we have been operating in disintegrates it requires companies to be more tuned in to geopolitics, regional allies and the potential impact on exports.”
