Discusses opportunities for U.S. franchisers and legal requirements in the market.
Last Published: 8/6/2019

Opportunities exist for U.S. companies to establish franchise systems in Ireland across niche sectors.  U.S. franchises compete for market share by country of origin primarily with Ireland and the U.K.

U.S. businesses looking to franchise within the European Union will likely find that the market is quite robust and friendly to franchise systems in general. There are a number of laws that govern the operation of franchises within the EU, but these laws are fairly broad and generally don’t constrain the competitive position of U.S. businesses.  The EU Regulation 4087/88 EEC regarding franchising provides a unified code for all the member states.  Its primary focus concerns price fixing, transfer pricing, non-competition clauses, and exclusive dealing.  It also exempts certain franchise agreements from the EU anti-trust regulations.

The franchisors should take care to look not only at EU regulations, but also at the local laws concerning franchising.  More information on specific legislation can be found on the website of the European Franchise Federation.
 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.