Influence of national and EU policy

eu

Visible imports:

Physical goods that irish businesses & individuals buy from foreign countries. Money leaves Ireland.

EG: Medical equipment.

Invisible imports:

Services that Irish businesses and individuals buy from foreign countries. Money leaves Ireland.

EG: An irish person attends concert in 3 arena by US artist Olivia Rodrigo.

Visible exports:

Physical goods that irish businesses & individuals sell to foreign countries. Money comes into ireland.

EG: Medicine - Pfizer.

Invisible exports:

Refers to services sold by irish businesses to consumers from foreign countries. Money enters ireland (Economy).

EG: LEA hart plays a concert in USA.

Import Substitution:

Refers to a domestic producer starting to produce a product that was previously imported, EG: Cheese. Money comes into the economy.

Protectionism:

Involves implementing trade barriers to foreign businesses to insulate home industries. Government & trading blocs restrict imports.

Why protectionism?

• Raise revenue - tariffs.

• Protect domestic Jobs - under threat from high competiton

Examples of protectionism (Barriers to trade)

• Quota

• Tariff.

• Embargo

• Subsidy

Quota:

A physical limit on the number of products that may be imported. Discourage & encourage more sales of home land products.

EG: Quota on clothing from china.

Embargo:

A complete ban on all imports/exports from/to a particular economy. Imposed for political or environmental reasons.

EG: USA has import/export ban against syria.

Tariff:

A tax placed on imported goods. Makes them more expensive & encourages people to buy irish goods.

EG: Tax on US sweets.

Free trade:

Enables countries to buy & sell another's goods & services without barriers in place. EG: No tariffs or quotas.

Trading bloc:

A group of countries that share a common free trade area. They remove barriers to trade between countries.

EG: The EU & NAFTA.

NAFTA:

= North American Free Trade Agreement.

The EU:

= Single european market (SEM)

EU Directive:

A law that applies to all EU member states, which must be implemented within a certain time frame. Each state has the autonomy to choose how they will implement it in their own country.

EG: WEEE Directive - return old electronics to manufacturer.

EU Regulation:

A law that is introduced and enforced in the same way across all EU states. EU laws take precedence over national laws.

EG: GDPR.

What EU institution imposed laws?

EU commission.

Balance of trade:

Visible exports - visible imports.

= Surplus or deficit.

Balance of payments:

Total exports - total imports.

= Surplus or deficit.

How to overcome a trade deficit?

• Increase exports.

• Reduce imports.

Government Policy

Government policy is a plan or actions made by the government to deal with important issues or improve life in the country. It shows what the government wants to achieve in areas like health, housing and education.

Government Legislation

Legislation means laws that are officially created and passed by the irish parliament. These laws must be followed by everyone including people and businesses. Breaking law means fine or going to court.

Gov Legislation vs Policy

Policies guide decisions, shape how money is spent and how services are run
Legislation is legally binding, meaning its the law and people have no choice but to follow it.

Primary Sector

Consists of all the businesses that are engaged in taking raw materials from nature. Examples of primary industries are: Agriculture, Fishing, mining and forestry.

Secondary sector

Consists of the manafacturing and construction industries. Manafacturing buys materials from the primary sector to make a product. An example is Tayto, they buy potatoes from farmers to make crisps.

Tertiary sector

Consists of all the businesses that provide service to consumers and to other businesses. These businesses dont make products. Example of tertiary sector is waiters, they serve and help customers.

Examples of government policies

Climate action plan- carbon neutral by 2050.
Corporation tax policy- Very low in ireland at 12.5%. Makes Ireland attractive place to set up
Housing for all- Building more affordable homes and reducing homelessness.

Impact of climate action plan

Makes farmers more sustainable. They are encouraged to reduce methane emission by managing land and animals differently.

Impact of corporation tax policy

Many big tech companies set up in Ireland, like intel. It benefits the tertiary sector because ireland receives foreign investment and more jobs are available for people like software engineers.

Impact of housing for all

More building projects mean more jobs for construction workers and related trades, helping reduce unemployment in the sector. Construction firms get more contracts and business,

Interest groups

A group of people that come together and campaign for a common goal by pressuring people like the government. Interest groups meet with politicians, attend government discussions, and give advice on what Irish businesses need to grow and succeed.

Example of interest group

IBEC- represent views of employers when decisions are being made in government. They talk about important issues effecting businesses like taxes, laws and the environment.

Lobbying

This is th deliberate effort to influence government decisions such as laws and policies by meeting with the people in power. It helps the government hear from different perspectives before making decisions.

European Commission

Manages day to day business of implementing and spending EU funds. It consists of commissions, Each commissioner is responsible for different area such transport or education.

4 functions of European commission

Propose new European laws to protect the eu and its citizens.
Enforce EU laws- if a government isnt following laws they will send a letter and if they dont listen the can impose penalties.
Draft EU budget- They decide how much EU can spend and how much each country gets.