Food Drink Ireland (FDI), the Ibec group representing the food and drink sector, has welcomed today’s approval of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve by the European Council – the final legislative step in its adoption.
In a statement Paul Kelly, FDI director said, “The Irish food and drink sector is by far the most exposed of any sector in any country in Europe to Brexit."
"Brexit has added significantly to trading costs including transport & logistics and additional administration both for trade with the UK but also for trade with the EU using the land-bridge," he said.
"This is only going to get worse when border controls are introduced in the coming months,” Kelly added.
Suggested Fund Target
According to FDI, 'in order to address this competitiveness challenge, funds from Ireland’s €1 billion allocation from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve should be targeted at a number of areas such as the introduction of a State-supported export credit insurance scheme.'
The group also said that €300 million from the fund should be invested in competitiveness and trade promotion and that the EWSS and grant support should be kept under review including for those significantly impacted by Brexit.
FDI said that the Revenue Warehousing Scheme to Brexit impacted companies should be extended, as well as the Foreign Earnings Deduction to more markets.
Finally, the group suggested that the Ready for Customs grant scheme should also be extended.
© 2021 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign up to subscribe to Checkout
