Chip exports to Ireland behind plunge in Israeli EU exports

Israeli exports of goods to the EU have fallen significantly in recent months, to NIS 36.8 billion shekels between January and August 2025 from NIS 40.8 billion in the corresponding period of last year, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports. In August 2025 itself, exports to the EU fell 25% to NIS 3.5 billion from NIS 4.7 billion in August 2024. What has caused the dramatic change in the trade balance with Europe? The answer is Ireland.

Since the start of 2025, Israeli exports to Ireland have plunged over 50%. Ireland’s most important import item from Israel is chips, which are mainly exported there from Israel by Intel. Moreover, over the same period, there has been an increase in Israeli chip exports to the US, and an increase in Israeli exports to Germany – Israel’s other important export destination in Europe. However, these two were not sufficient to offset Ireland’s dramatic decline.

Increase in exports to Germany, decrease to Cyprus

Exports to Ireland since the beginning of the year have been cut from NIS 8.2 billion between January and August 2024 to only NIS 3.9 billion in the corresponding period in 2025. Although this dramatic drop is somewhat offset, as mentioned, by an increase of NIS 2.3 billion in exports to Germany during the same period, total exports to the EU fell NIS 4 billion. This is also due to a fall of NIS 1 billion in exports to Cyprus over the same period, mainly chemicals.

Shift in chip exports towards the US

The leading Israeli export to Ireland is chips, and according to Central Bureau of Statistics data for July, chip exports to Ireland have dropped dramatically: from $369 million in July 2024 to just $40 million in July 2025, a fall of about 90%.

However, chip exports to the US have jumped from $58 million in July 2024 to $265 million in July 2025. This is a rather dramatic change, which suggests a shift in exports from Ireland to the US, but total chip exports are still in decline.

Overall, according to the figures, exports of “electronic components and boards” (mainly chips) have fallen 22% since the beginning of 2025 compared with the same period last year, from NIS 15.9 billion to NIS 12.4 billion.

The chip industry is led by Intel, which operates in Israel, Ireland and the US, and has cut its workforce in recent months. It is possible that a change in Intel’s operations and perhaps a shift in exports from Ireland to the US contributed to the decline, but the company’s response could not be obtained by the time of going to press.

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Some companies would prefer not to trade with Israel

While sentiment towards Israel in Europe is cooling, and a number of countries such as Ireland and Spain have even demanded sanctions or the cancellation of agreements, no official steps have yet been taken against Israel.

According to Dr. Emmanuel Navon of the School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs at Tel Aviv University, “All trade relations with Israel are conducted in Brussels. No EU member state can adopt an independent exceptional policy towards a third country.”

<Thus, trade relations are conducted with the EU as a whole, which is Israel’s largest trading partner. He adds, “The EU itself can impose restrictions such as freezing programs and labeling products manufactured across the Green Line, and two weeks ago the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke about freezing R&D agreements but that has not yet been approved.”

The EU requires consensus or a qualified majority for most decisions in it, so policy changes in it tend to be quite slow. However, he says, “In countries with a relatively hostile attitude towards Israel, such as Ireland, it is possible that certain companies will prefer not to trade with Israel directly, because it is a headache in terms of public pressure and on behalf of the BDS movement.”

Nevertheless, an economic source warns against jumping to conclusions too quickly: “It may be a technical matter, of changing the classification or timing of an Intel customer. Such things have happened in the past, especially in exports for which the customs of the receiving country is responsible, and the customs rate is determined by it. Still, this is an exceptional figure.”

The Ministry of Economy and Industry said that this is not a political matter but a business one and that the decline in chip exports to Ireland is rooted in changes taking place in the global chip market.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on September 28, 2025.

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