US business delegation probes post-Brexit opportunities in Northern Ireland

Alteryx

26/10/2023 20:44

* 
      US President Biden dispatches trade mission to UK region
    

        * 
      Post-Brexit rules give region unique access to UK, EU
markets
    

        * 
      But political stalemate overshadows investment pitch
    

  
    By Amanda Ferguson
       BELFAST, Oct 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. business delegation
dispatched to Northern Ireland by President Joe Biden talked up
opportunities created by the region's bespoke post-Brexit trade
arrangements on Thursday, but members acknowledged a political
stand-off had sown some doubts.
    The trade mission, announced by Biden during a visit to
Belfast in April, was designed to help sell what the president
described as the "unprecedented economic opportunity" created by
the region's dual access to the United Kingdom and the European
Union goods markets under the Windsor Framework Agreement.
    The February agreement has however so far failed to convince
the region's largest pro-British party, the Democratic Unionist
Party (DUP), to end a boycott of the regional power-sharing
government due to remaining barriers on trade with the rest of
the UK.
    "I think people have been excited about this. They've had
their eyes opened by this trip," U.S. Special Envoy to Northern
Ireland Joe Kennedy III, who is leading the delegation of around
50 U.S. executives, told reporters. 
    But he also said a stable government was important for
people considering investments in the hundreds of millions or
billions of dollars. "We need to get there," he said of efforts
to re-establish a system of power-sharing set up by a 1998 peace
deal. 
    The delegation included Coca-Cola CFO John Murphy, Liberty
Mutual Insurance CEO Tim Sweeney and New York State Comptroller
Thomas DiNapoli.  
    But a commitment by the New York State pension fund to
invest up to $50 million in Northern Ireland businesses was the
only major announcement during the trip.
    One of the delegation, Alteryx Inc  AYX.N  chief executive
Mark Anderson, said an expansion by his data analytics software
company in the region was "something that's really worthy of
consideration" after Brexit threw a "bit of a wrench" into the
advantages of their London office. He said political
difficulties were not a barrier.
    February's Windsor Agreement, which eases Northern Ireland's
access to the rest of the United Kingdom while leaving it within
the EU's single market for goods, is likely to create
opportunities for manufacturers in particular, delegates said. 
    Some of the manufacturing-focussed firms that travelled to
Northern Ireland were "intrigued by the unique market access,"
Stephen Kelly of trade body Manufacturing NI told Reuters after
hosting a session with delegates.
    Around 230 U.S. businesses operate in the region. But south
of the border, Ireland's much faster growing economy has proven
a greater magnet for U.S. firms thanks to decades-long
pro-business policies and a 12.5% corporate tax rate, half that
of the UK.
    Speaking in Dublin, Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin
said Northern Ireland cannot fully grasp the opportunities
without local government.
    "The message from business to Northern Ireland leaders is
clear: Deliver stability and we will deliver investment," said
Martin. 

 (Additional reporting by Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries;
Editing by Giles Elgood)
 ((padraic.halpin@thomsonreuters.com; +353 1 500 1504; Reuters
Messaging: padraic.halpin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))