The capital of Texas, Austin, is where the Taoiseach started his tour to the United States (unofficial motto: Keep Austin Weird), reports RTE.
It’s a little different from the rest of Texas, and that difference—that oddness—along with other typical Texas characteristics like cheap energy and low taxes, has contributed to its development as a centre for culture and technology.
Many of the state’s trade and commerce agencies are there, along with tech companies, artists, producers, and films, and it draws a worldwide audience for the South by Southwest Festival of Technology, Music, and Film (SXSW), three fields in which Ireland enjoys competing, reports RTE.
An excellent location for the Taoiseach to begin his US tour and see the economic ties before his trip to the White House, where he hopes to discuss business with President Donald Trump, the US’s most successful businessman.
Several of the themes he intends to use in his discussions with the president were test-marketed in Austin, including the significant two-way street that now exists in trade and investment flows between the US and Ireland, reports RTE.
The first factor is undoubtedly US investments in Ireland, some of which, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, significantly contribute to Ireland’s surplus in goods trade with the US.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ireland has the biggest trade surplus with the US of any EU state – including Germany, reports RTE.
So handling this issue will be very important, as President Trump has made no secret of his desire to drive investment in the US by US companies that he wants to see bringing production back to the US from overseas.
The Taoiseach mentioned some of his recent dealings with US multinationals in Ireland.
“Over the last while back in Ireland, I was at LinkedIn, opened their office in Dublin, met with Microsoft, as you know, Brad Smith [vice chair and president of Microsoft], have been in touch with a number of multinational companies on the pharmaceutical side, and our strategy really is to, notwithstanding all of the commentary and so on, is to really bring home the idea that this is an enduring, robust presence in Ireland, and the relationship is a very strong one that we want to see grow into the future,” reports RTE.
The Taoiseach said Irish businesses must “hold the nerve” in the face of impending US tariffs while speaking at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Technology Music and Film Festival.
“How it’s a two-way street will be the main point I’d be making. It’s not just American investment in Ireland, it’s Irish investment in America as well. We are buying a lot of stuff, a lot of American products. We have a lot of Irish companies based here that will grow, and that will continue to grow,” reports RTE.
The Taoiseach is aware that the US and the EU differ in how and what they count in their respective trade figures, as evidenced by the recent visit to Washington by EU Trade Commissioner (and Brexit veteran) Maroš Šefčovič.
Speaking in Austin, the Taoiseach claimed that the US Department of Commerce’s statistics do not account for Ryanair and AerCap’s acquisition of Boeing aircraft and that US pharmaceutical companies benefit from Ireland’s “high standards” in life sciences, as factory certification by the Irish regulator benefits the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) as well as the European Medicines Agency, reports RTE.
He visited software testing business Tricentis, which is adding 50 jobs at its Cork plant, and long-time Ireland investor Dell Computers in Austin.
However, according to Enterprise Ireland, Ireland is also growing its footprint in the US, with 120 Irish businesses employing over 4,000 people in Texas and over 200,000 Americans working for Irish businesses nationwide.
Kevin Sherry, Interim CEO of Enterprise Ireland, the agency charged with helping Irish firms export overseas, said: “The USA is the second largest country export market for Enterprise Ireland client companies with €5.9 billion exports in 2023, representing 17% of our total exports. Supporting Irish companies to scale and invest in the USA is an important priority for us and our business events programme across the USA for St Patrick’s Day. We will focus on further supporting our client companies to strengthen their business impact in the USA,” reports RTE.
This week, Enterprise Ireland opened its seventh US field office, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mr Sherry said: “The expansion of our footprint and team across the USA underscores our commitment to support Irish companies to scale in the US, delivering economic value for both Ireland and the USA,” reports RTE.
The Ardagh Group is a prominent packaging manufacturer that has 17 facilities in 12 states and sells food, alcohol, and beer brands. Over the last four years, it has invested $1.5 billion in its US business and employs around 6,000 people there, reports RTE.
Glanbia is a nutrition firm that employs 4,000 people in the US and has more than 20 production sites and many innovation centres.
Glen Dimplex: Runs two facilities in Washington and Michigan, with about 500 employees. The business has made significant investments in its US operations.
The Kerry Group invested more than $5 billion in the United States, including $120 million for a sustainable factory in Rome, Georgia. The Kerry Group employs over 6,000 people and runs 70 locations, including 48 industrial facilities, reports RTE.
With 32 locations in 17 US states, Kingspan provides insulation and building solutions. This year, the company aims to invest $750 million, including three new production facilities. In the US, the corporation has about 2,500 employees.
Ornua: Consumer brands and dairy ingredients with over 50 years of US investment. Ornua, the owner of Kerrygold, provides over 900 indirect employment and employs over 700 people in rural Wisconsin and Minnesota, reports RTE.
One of Boeing’s largest clients, Ryanair, placed the largest US goods purchase by an Irish company in 2023, spending $40 billion for MAX-10 aircraft.
Boston: The FDA has designated CergenX, a spinout from University College Cork’s INFANT Centre that specialises in neonatal neuroprotective treatment, as a Breakthrough technology. CergenX’s AI-powered ‘Wave’ technology will improve quickly diagnosing newborn neurological conditions, reports RTE.
Boston: To work with companies in a variety of industries, Climeaction, an Irish firm that specialises in decarbonisation and sustainability solutions, has opened a new office in Boston.
Chicago: Irish healthcare startup Solvotrin Therapeutics specialises on improving well-established treatments. To provide its clinically validated Active Iron supplement to the United States, it has teamed up with Ortho Molecular Products, reports RTE.
Chicago: Irish medical technology firm NeuroBell specialises in AI-powered, portable brain monitoring tools for identifying seizures in infants. It has established a relationship with Parkview Health, one of Indiana’s biggest hospital systems, and created a new office in the United States.
New York: Kefron AP, an Irish expansion of the Kefron Group that specialises in AI-powered software for automating accounts payment, reports RTE.
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