New Alabama commission looks at improving trade ties with Ireland

Senate Majority Leader Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, speaks to the Alabama Senate on Feb. 6, 2024 in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

The Alabama-Ireland Trade Commission convened for its inaugural meeting Monday and appointed Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro and Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest as the chair and vice-chair of the committees.

The trade commission stems from SJR 24 , which Livingston sponsored, passed by the Legislature in April of this year. The measure created the Commission whose purpose is to “foster closer ties of friendship between the State of Alabama and the Republic of Ireland.”

“This is something that will certainly benefit the state and our partnership with Ireland,” Whitt said, acting as the chair in Livingston’s absence. “Alabama is not just one state in the south anymore. We need to make these global partnerships.”

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One of the key priorities is to solidify a trade partnership with Ireland to establish stronger commercial partnerships to exchange goods and services.

The next step is to have the Republic of Ireland name appointments to the commission, then have meetings with other states in the country that have a trade relationship with the European country. The groups will then discuss joint educational partnerships with the universities in the state and those in Ireland.

The population of Ireland and Alabama are both roughly 5 million . According to the Alabama Department of Commerce , Alabama exported about $64.8 million worth of goods to the Republic of Ireland in 2023, a 16% increase over the previous year.

Ireland ranked 38th in the value of exported Alabama goods. The top 5 in 2023 were Germany ($5 billion); Canada ($3.9 billion); China ($3.7 billion); Mexico ($3.1 billion) and South Korea ($1.1 billion).

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