A comparison of the EU export competitiveness of UK and Irish firms that trade in the EU is provided. Four measures are considered as suggested by Buckley et al's (1988) model of competitiveness: real labor costs, productivity, price and research and development. These measures are held to represent a firm's potential competitiveness. An argument is made from the a prior position that, as a result of Irish stable exchange rate arrangements within the EU, Irish firms have a greater potential for achieving sustained competitive advantage than their UK counterparts. It is concluded that stability in the exchange rate will shift the focus of firms' competitiveness towards strategies that create the greater potential for sustained competitive advantage.