The Public Expenditure Minister has declared that US tariffs would be extremely harmful and damaging to an open economy like Ireland.
Jack Chambers said the prime minister would emphasise the “broader, balanced economic relationship” between the two countries when he meets US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office next week.
Mr Chambers said the Treasury and other government departments were doing “extensive contingency planning” to counter potential “disruption and damage” to the Irish economy from US tariffs.
He added that tariffs were uneconomic, telling Newstalk radio on Thursday morning: “[Tariffs] would seriously disrupt integrated global supply chains, leading to higher costs for consumers. Increased inflation and protectionism are damaging to the economy.”
The announcement comes as President Trump continued his aggressive trade policies earlier this week by imposing 25 percent import tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Mr Trump and his administration argue that higher tariffs on US imports will help the country gain influence over allies and rivals around the world.
However, experts warn that trade barriers could hurt the economies of both the US and other countries, including Ireland.
According to UN International Trade Data, Ireland is one of the world's largest exporters of pharmaceuticals.
In 2023, the United States became the top buyer of Irish goods, purchasing products worth €54 billion. Of this amount, approximately €36 billion was pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Pharmaceuticals are generally exempt from tariffs under a World Trade Organization agreement reached in 1994.
However, there are growing concerns that Mr Trump could continue to flout international norms and include pharmaceuticals in tariffs imposed on the European Union.
Mr Chambers acknowledged Ireland was in a vulnerable position and tariffs could pose a “significant downside risk to the Irish economy”.
“We are in the context of broader geopolitical issues that are constantly changing.”
Mr Chambers said the introduction of EU-wide or more product-specific tariffs “would be very damaging because our whole economic model depends on international trade and we have a very diversified export structure across many different sectors”.
The Minister noted that the Ministry of Finance is conducting extensive work on “scenario planning” of all possible consequences of the introduction of tariffs.
“We are working on setting up various countermeasures that we can take if tariffs are imposed to try to protect the interests of Ireland and also of companies and workers.”
Ireland How Vulnerable
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
