Ceta in spotlight: Dublin law firm gears up for Canadian business influx in wake of Donald Trump's tariffs

Irish Independent

29-04-2025

The Dublin firm this week launched a new Canada trade desk, made up of a team of experienced lawyers dedicated to providing Canadian businesses with crossborder legal services to invest in and trade with Europe.
The initiative is being led by Mr Legorburu, a Dublin-based solicitor who is originally from Canada.
He said there are relatively few restrictions on trade between Canada and the European Union (EU), including Ireland, since the two struck the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (Ceta) almost a decade ago.
'The agreement is not yet fully ratified, but there is 98pc to 99pc free trade between Canada and the EU,' he said.
The value of Ceta to the two countries is also complemented by the Blue Skies Air Agreement and the Canada-Ireland Double Taxation Treaty.
Trade between the two blocs has ­increased by 67pc since the agreement was struck and Ireland-Canada trade is up 30pc, but there is now a fresh ­incentive to intensify that relationship for businesses in both jurisdictions, he said.
Canadians went to the polls yesterday in a general election with Liberal Party leader and prime minister Mark Carney attempting to hold on to ­power ahead of his main opponent, Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre.
Canada's relationship with the United States has changed very significantly
The doubts for Canadian industry created by Mr Trump's imposition of sweeping tariffs and ratcheting up of tensions with its northern neighbour means there is a big and growing push on Canada to diversify into new markets, including Europe and Japan.
'Canada's relationship with the ­United States has changed very significantly. Europe and Canada are strategically aligned,' Mr Legorburu said.
For Europe, Canada is rich in ­natural resources including oil and timber which is in demand in Ireland and across the continent, but also rare earth minerals and iron ore, which are needed in industrial Europe but historically tended to be shipped to the manufacturing sector in the US.
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'Europe has that need, Canada has those resources,' Mr Legorburu said.
Ireland is well positioned in terms of geography, language and business culture to play an important role in a developing relationship, he said.
Canadian businesses in sectors such as technology, aerospace, life sciences, rare earth minerals, agricultural products and forestry, have seen Ireland as a base through which they can route their supply chains into the EU, he said.
He cites eight CEOs from Alberta and 33 from the Great Lakes region of Canada planning visits here to deepen investment ties.
Shifting global trade routes can be a slow process, but Europe's rapid decoupling from Russia's resource economy in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine shows it can happen quickly, he said.
The new Byrne Wallace Shields team aims to work with Canadian companies who need to negotiate through the regulatory landscape here to smoothly manage access to market and regulatory matters.
The team will be based in Dublin with lawyers in situ in multiple parts of Canada including Toronto and the Maritimes region in eastern Canada.