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British exit from EU to greatly impact Ireland: report

Xinhua, November 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

A British exit from the European Union would cost Ireland billions of euros every year in reduced trade flows, according to a new report published Thursday.

The report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), a leading economic policy think-tank, showed that a Brexit could reduce bilateral trade flows between Ireland and Britain by 20 percent or more.

"While the 20 percent estimate is an average figure, the impact would differ significantly across sectors, products and firm types as merchandise trade in particular is heavily concentrated in some sectors and products and indigenous firms are more dependent on the UK as an export market," the ESRI said in the report.

"The UK is more important as a source of imports to Ireland than it is as a destination for Irish exports, and any barriers to trade would increase prices of UK imports to Ireland," it added.

The British government is committed to holding a referendum on EU membership following negotiations between Britain and the EU. Endit