In April 2025, Ireland experienced a notable expansion of its trade surplus, reaching €11.1 billion compared to €8.6 billion the previous year. This development was propelled by a 12.7% increase in exports, amounting to €21.9 billion. A significant factor in this growth was the 23.6% rise in exports of medical and pharmaceutical products, which totaled €10.9 billion. In the year’s initial four months, exports of pharmaceuticals experienced a substantial upturn, contributing to 60.2% of the nation's total exports—primarily directed to the United States. This surge was largely influenced by American multinational corporations accelerating exports ahead of the proposed tariffs under Donald Trump's administration.
Conversely, imports saw a slight decrease of 0.2%, settling at €10.8 billion. This decline was primarily due to significant reductions in the importation of organic chemicals, which dropped by 30.1% to €0.5 billion, and office machinery as well as data processing equipment, which experienced a 3.9% decline to €0.8 billion. The decrease in these imports was partially counterbalanced by a dramatic 106.3% increase in medical and pharmaceutical imports, reaching €1.8 billion and constituting 17% of the overall imports. Imports from Great Britain witnessed a rise of 4.8%, accounting for 12.4% of total imports.
