Tánaiste Simon Harris will emphasize the value of Irish trade to the United States in his upcoming meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, according to Fine Gael Minister Patrick O’Donovan, reports The Mirror.
Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport, Mr O’Donovan, said Mr Harris will advocate for strong bilateral relations between Ireland and the US.
Mr Harris, who also serves as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, is scheduled to meet Mr Lutnick on Wednesday, reports The Mirror.
This meeting comes amid growing concern over the 20% tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump.
Mr Lutnick has previously criticised Ireland’s tax system, claiming it allows Ireland to maintain a trade surplus at America’s expense, reports The Mirror.
A few weeks ago, Mr Harris and Mr Lutnick spoke during a late-night phone call, which Mr O’Donovan described as a helpful exchange of perspectives.
On RTÉ’s The Week In Politics, Mr O’Donovan said Mr Harris will focus on two key issues during his meeting, reports The Mirror.
He said Mr Harris will reiterate, as Irish officials did during the recent St Patrick’s Day visit, how important Irish-American trade and bilateral ties are.
The minister pointed out that Irish businesses provide jobs for tens of thousands of people across the US, reports The Mirror.
He also stressed that the second key message is that trade negotiations fall under EU authority, not individual member states.
He said the EU will represent all its members in any talks, reports The Mirror.
Mr O’Donovan criticised the portrayal of the US as a country that only imports goods.
He said American media and politicians have wrongly suggested the US does not export, when in fact it sells to a market of 450 million people in the EU, reports The Mirror.
He added that the EU is being misrepresented as an insignificant bloc, when it is actually a major buyer of global products with several free trade deals in place.
Sinn Féin’s Claire Kerrane, the party’s spokesperson on children and disability, said the government should start preparing for a “worst-case scenario,” reports The Mirror.
She supported calls from industry leaders for immediate support for businesses and workers affected by US tariffs.
The Roscommon-Galway TD said the government must act carefully and have financial supports ready to deploy.
She said Ireland needs sector-by-sector analysis and must prepare for the possibility that the pharma and tech sectors could be targeted by tariffs, reports The Mirror.
She also urged north-south cooperation on the island, warning that the US President makes decisions without relying on facts, as shown by the recent trade policy document.
Labour’s enterprise, tourism, and employment spokesperson, Wexford TD George Lawlor, said support could be drawn from the national Social Insurance Fund, reports The Mirror.
He told RTÉ that workers must feel secure in their jobs during this uncertain period.
He warned against repeating the mistakes of the last recession, saying that if Ireland had retained more construction workers then, the country might not be facing its current difficulties, reports The Mirror.
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