Senior Government figures have voiced optimism that a negotiated solution could help ease the pressure of US tariffs, as the Taoiseach warned they could trigger global “recessionary trends”, reports Breaking News.
Ireland is included in the broad 20% tariff targeting most EU exports to the US, announced by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, which is set to take effect in the coming days.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin expressed concern about how the tariffs might affect jobs and investment both in Ireland and internationally, saying that investors are likely to remain cautious until the situation becomes clearer, reports Breaking News.
He said he deeply regretted Mr Trump’s decision, describing the tariffs as unjustified.
Mr Martin also challenged the way the US calculated the 20% rate, which the administration claims is based on tariffs and trade barriers the EU imposes on American goods, reports Breaking News.
Mr Martin said the figures “do not reflect the reality of the situation as we see it”.
He acknowledged that Ireland and the wider EU will be able to “weather this storm”, but cautioned that the impact will still be damaging.
Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers compared the potential fallout to the Great Depression, reports Breaking News.
He said: “The last time the scope or extent that this was tried globally in trading terms was in the early around 1930, which led to the Great Depression. In fact, the tariffs that are being imposed now are in excess of that.”
Mr Martin was among senior Government members who implied the tariffs might be a strategic move to initiate talks, reports Breaking News.
“The next 48 hours will tell a lot, What I get from the President’s speech is very much sort of wanting to engage, and signalling a desire to engage, to negotiate a sensible settlement here,” reports Breaking News.
European Commissioner Michael McGrath, speaking at a Dublin press conference alongside Mr Martin, confirmed the EU’s openness to dialogue with the US.
“The current provisional estimate is that overall, around €380 billion of EU exports will be subject to the additional tariffs, that comprises of approximately 290 billion subject to the so-called reciprocal tariffs, 26 billion subject to tariffs on steel and aluminium, and €67 billion subject to US tariffs on cars and car parts. This would represent, overall, around 70 per cent of all EU exports to the US being subject to new tariffs that have been announced yesterday and indeed in recent days, which would result in around €80 billion in additional duties on EU exports to the United States,” reports Breaking News.
He added that if talks with the US collapse, the EU is preparing countermeasures to safeguard Irish and EU economic interests.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Harris stressed the importance of “maturity” in upcoming talks between the EU and the US, reports Breaking News.
Speaking to journalists in Dublin on Thursday, Mr Harris said there was some encouragement in Mr Trump’s apparent readiness to engage.
“It’s absolutely clear President Trump wanted this big moment last night. He got it: Big charts and all – that happened in the Rose Garden, that bit is done. What we now need is the maturity of actually sitting down in a room and finding a way forward that’s good for the US economy, good for the EU economy, and that then ultimately is good for Ireland,” reports Breaking News.
Mr Harris said he supports a “negotiated way forward”, but stressed that the EU must act if the US refuses to participate in discussions.
He said the bloc cannot “stand idly by” and added: “We don’t want to be involved in tit for tat. We’d much rather be involved in talks,” reports Breaking News.
On Wednesday, Mr Trump introduced a baseline 10% tariff on all imports, with even higher rates for specific regions — including a 20% levy on products from Ireland and other EU member states.
The 10% tariff will be applied from April 5th, while the “individualised reciprocal higher” rates, including the EU’s, will come into force on April 9th, reports Breaking News.
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