The Government is moving to intensify efforts to prepare for a transatlantic trade conflict against the backdrop of heightened tensions and promised tariffs between the United States and the European Union.
Simon Harris has written to members of the Government-convened trade forum, calling a meeting in Dublin next week after his St Patrick’s Day trip to the US.
Irish whiskey producers are facing threats from Donald Trump of severe tariffs on exports to the US in response to the EU promise to hit US whiskey – which in turn was in response to the US imposing tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium from Wednesday.
Micheál Martin said on Thursday he expected negotiations between the EU and US before threatened EU tariffs come into force next month.
The Taoiseach said he expected there would be discussions within the EU on the approach to the US threat of further tariffs and he would seek to protect Irish interests in those talks.
While in the US, Mr Harris is to meet Enterprise Ireland and IDA clients, as well as Irish companies and those in the financial services sector. He is also planning to call trade ministers from other EU states next week.
On Thursday, he spoke to officials in his department who are co-ordinating work to analyse recent developments and consider further developments in the weeks ahead.
The trade forum will be briefed on a call between Mr Harris and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic which took place this week.
Mr Sefcovic is said to have outlined plans to work with the US and for taking forward countermeasures to US tariffs on steel and aluminium. The Tánaiste said that Ireland would work with the European Commission as the situation developed.
In the letter to members of the government’s trade forum, Mr Harris said the commission had “announced a stakeholder consultation process and I would strongly encourage all of you to participate, and to advise your members and stakeholders of this”.
Mr Martin on Thursday played down fears that the US president’s repeated references to US pharmaceutical companies in Ireland at their Oval Office meeting on Wednesday suggested the future of the industry in Ireland was in danger.
“A lot remains to be seen in terms how this manifests itself in terms of specific US legislation, or mechanism of time, or whatever,” the Taoiseach said.
“It’s all somewhat uncertain and unclear, in relation to that, but suffice to say that the investment in Ireland is very solid, deeply embedded, and plays a huge role in the overall architecture of these pharmaceutical companies ... and particularly their access to the European market and their access to the Asian markets.”
