Ireland’s Openness to Trade Ranked in World Top 10

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has today (11/06/13) issued the latest Open Markets Index which ranks countries by their openness to trade.

Ireland are ranked 8th out of 75 countries assessed worldwide, coming 5th in Europe behind Luxembourg, Belgium, Malta and the Netherlands.

Ian Talbot, Secretary General of ICC Ireland said, “As a small island, an open economy is vital to allow for access to larger markets and free movement of capital for investment. Ireland’s ranking is positive news given the importance of Foreign Direct Investment and international trade for our economic wellbeing and particularly to support employment and to create the growth so desperately needed in this economy.”

“Those countries ranked above us are our direct competitors for the title of ‘Best small country in the world in which to do business’. If we are to achieve this target by 2016, then we need to keep focused on maintaining our openness to trade and ensure that no new barriers, such as taxes, are put in place,” he concluded.

To download a copy of the report, click here.

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For further information contact Amy Woods, Chambers Ireland on 01 400 4319, 086 6081605 or email amy.woods@www.chambers.ie 

Notes to Editor
About the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Ireland
Chambers Ireland is the official representative of the International Chamber of Commerce in Ireland. ICC is the largest, most representative business organisation in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 120 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise.

A global network of national committees keeps the ICC International Secretariat in Paris informed about national and regional business priorities. More than 2,000 experts drawn from ICC’s member companies feed their knowledge and experience into crafting the ICC stance on specific business issues.

The United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the G20 and many other intergovernmental bodies, both international and regional, are kept in touch with the views of international business through ICC.

About the Open Markets Index
The Open Markets Index ranks 75 countries using an aggregate score between one and six based on four factors: observed trade openness, trade policy, openness to foreign direct investment and trade-enabling infrastructure. It was commissioned by ICC to monitor whether governments are following through on their commitments to create genuinely open economies.