Negotiations with the United States are now “likely,” according to the Tánaiste, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day delay on certain major tariffs, reports Breaking News.
Simon Harris held talks in Washington DC on Wednesday with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, a prominent critic of Irish trade practices within the Trump administration.
Their meeting came shortly after President Trump confirmed a 90-day postponement on tariffs for most countries, while increasing duties on Chinese imports to 125 per cent, reports Breaking News.
The US had previously introduced a 20 per cent tariff on goods from the EU, which would have included exports from Ireland.
Although the full scope of the delay remains unclear, the US treasury secretary indicated that Mr Trump intends to maintain a 10% base tariff on most countries, reports Breaking News.
On Thursday, Mr Harris said he had briefed EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic about his meeting with Mr Lutnick.
He said in a statement: “It has been my consistent position and the consistent position of the Irish Government and the European Union that we need to get into substantive, calm, measured dialogue with the United States. It has always been our preference that would have happened before tariff announcements. Clearly that was not the position of the United States. However, after my discussions yesterday, it is now clear to me that such engagement and negotiation is likely,” reports Breaking News.
Mr Harris, who also serves as Ireland’s foreign affairs and trade minister, continued: “I believe it needs to happen in a timely fashion. All sides need to engage in good faith because uncertainty and turmoil is not the way forward. The trading relationship between the EU and the US is worth €1.6 trillion per year. It’s massively important in terms of jobs, growth and investment in Ireland, across the European Union and in America,” reports Breaking News.
Earlier in the week, the European Union had responded to Mr Trump’s previous 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium by approving retaliatory measures.
These EU countermeasures, set to begin on April 15th, are said to target products such as orange juice, coffee, motorcycles, and boats.
Notably, bourbon whiskey has been left off the list this time, despite being previously considered by the EU as a target for tariffs, reports Breaking News.
Mr Trump had warned of a potential 200 per cent tariff on EU beverages if bourbon was sanctioned, raising alarms within the Irish drinks industry.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had previously proposed a zero-tariff deal on industrial products, including automobiles, but President Trump dismissed it as insufficient to meet US demands, reports Breaking News.
Concerns remain in Ireland regarding the potential effects on the pharmaceutical industry, which employs around 45,000 people nationally.
Although pharmaceutical products were excluded from the recent US tariffs on EU exports, the sector may still face future trade actions from the Trump administration.
The US trade secretary recently stated that American tech and pharmaceutical firms shifting intellectual property to Ireland for tax advantages was “going to change,” reports Breaking News.
Mr Harris also confirmed that the US is “still clear” in its intention to address pharmaceutical-related issues, which could pose significant challenges for Ireland.
Still, he acknowledged that the 90-day pause creates an opening for dialogue, stating there is “at least an openness to considering” including pharmaceuticals in trade talks with the US, reports Breaking News.
He added that during his conversation with Mr Lutnick—who previously described Ireland’s trade surplus with the US as “nonsense”—he argued for pharmaceuticals to be part of the tariff discussions, rather than facing new levies while talks are ongoing.
Ireland’s total exports reached €223.8 billion last year, with about one-third going to the US, reports Breaking News.
Of the €72.6 billion worth of Irish exports to the US, roughly €58 billion was made up of pharmaceutical and chemical products.
If the 20 per cent US tariff had gone into effect and the EU had retaliated, projections indicated that figure could have been cut in half, reports Breaking News.
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