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THERE IS A “huge amount of uncertainty” surrounding tariffs proposed US President Donald Trump on the EU next week, a government minister has said.
Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said that the Irish government is currently preparing for the impact of the tariffs, due to come into effect on 2 April.
Trump intends to impose tariffs on countries that he sees as having the worst trade balances with the US.
He’s been calling them “reciprocal” tariffs to suggest that they’re a means to “match” the cost of the US doing business with those countries.
He’s dubbed the targets of these tariffs the “dirty 15″ – a list of 14 countries plus the entire EU.
Trump will ultimately determine the contents of the 2 April announcement, which he has touted as “Liberation Day” for the US economy.
EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič expects the US to hit the EU with tariffs of about 20%.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week programme today, Burke said that while the terms of the tariffs remain shady, the Irish government is doing “a number of things” to prepare – including engaging with EU counterparts, and convening a trade forum on Friday to “take soundings from all sectoral interests”.
Burke added that he would present a series of measures addressing competitiveness concerns to Government officials on Monday.
While Burke minimised the likelihood of an immediate exodus of pharmaceutical companies, he expressed worry over upcoming investment decisions regarding Ireland’s future.
He emphasised the need for actions that would foster growth in other sectors of the economy, explaining that the Irish government needs a “laser-like focus” on the country’s competitive issues in order to “sharpen up”.
Burke added that Ireland was working alongside the EU to consider a reponse to the latest round of tariffs.
“The EU has taken time, it’s going to assess the impact of what the US administration comes out with on 2 April, and will have a clever, well crafted but calm response,” Burke said.
According to Burke, this EU-wide assessment will ensure that the trading bloc is “standing up for European interests” and also “protecting the Irish economy”.
Speaking on EU News Radio today, EU Commissioner and former finance minister Michael McGrath said that there was engagement this week between high-ranking EU and US figures ahead of the tariffs.
“Those contacts are continuing, we want to avoid the imposition of tariffs”, McGrath said.
“There are only losers when it comes to the imposition of tariffs, which are ultimately taxes on consumers and will cost trade and investment opportunities and could potentially cost jobs.,” he added.
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Is there not a little bit of an irony in a government minister telling our private companies to “sharpen up” when they preside over departments that are inefficient unaccountable & squander millions & billions of taxpayers mone ???
Just thought I’d mention it like…..
@Gerry Kelly: Garry, post of the week bud
@Gerry Kelly: more than a ‘ little bit’….. some might say his statement is the Oxford Dictionary definition of irony
@Mary Linton: Well, he was never the sharpest.
If I thought the French were bad, the Irish remind me all the time that there’s worse. So do the Italians …
Let’s not even talk about the English.
It’s a human nature thing, some are more chic and sophisticated than others. L’art de vivre !
@Gerry Kelly: well said son
@Gerry Kelly: yep, less bloated Government, lower taxes, increased money circulation, more vibrant economy. Tell me the political party proposing that and I’ll vote for them.
@offside again: YAWN!
@Gerry Kelly: he said the “Government” needs a laser like focus on competitive issues facing business. And he is correct. Electricity prices in Ireland are twice that which they should be, as are so many other input costs. If we are to compete in a post corporation tax bonanza era, we need to address all costs and slash bureaucratic quangos
@Del Ray: reform U.K. you can always move over there
@Gerry Kelly: and this folks is why they never abolished the USC. Also coming to a town near you is a massive hike in property tax!!!!!!
Told for years not to rely on multi-national tax windfalls. Maybe concentrate on creating Irish companies.
@Brian D’Arcy: So the government should concentrate on forming companies? governments don’t do that……also we have some of the highest wages in Europe,what could we do that couldn’t be done abroad at half the price.
@John Paul: eh, medical tech.
@Fergus O’Donnell: medical tech are not government companies.
@John Paul: Whats the purpose of Enterprise Ireland for example? They rejected the Collison brothers when they initially came up with their plan for Stripe.
We have the talent but we don’t have the structures or finance in place to back them.
@David Corrigan: Thousands of Irish businesses are backed all the time by different agencies….some work some don’t.You bring up one that decided to move abroad……I suppose the opposition would have had another plan to replace the 100 billion/100k jobs ready to cut the ribbon on.
@John Paul: There’s no supports for businesses here and you need to face that fact. EI is populated with old retired cronies who parade around as “mentors”.
@David Corrigan: EI paid out €320M in grants in 2023, so there clearly are supports available. Whether they are sufficient, or not, is a different matter
@Brian D’Arcy: You’re never happy,if a puppy got knocked down,you blame the government.
@Kev Kerr: why do successful companies have to leave so? If you’re not a multi-national there’s nothing here for you. I’ll.counter, why doesn’t the Republic have a multitude of successful companies as the Rspublic as their base?
@Brian D’Arcy: not sure what you mean – the biggest Irish companies (CRH, Glanbia, Kerry Group) are all headquartered here. Stripe has a dual HQ in Dublin and San Francisco. All of these companies also have significant overseas operations, as a huge part of their business is in overseas markets
@Brian D’Arcy: when you see how bad the public sector are run I’d say best leave the government out of starting companies. Ireland needs to reform it’s entire public sector especially the HSE and opw
@Kev Kerr: Their budget is over €1bn, where does the rest go?
@Brian D’Arcy: Our Economy is a lie unfortunately, it’s too small for us to have first world lives without multinationals pushing the cost of everything. It’s been a good hook to pull us from last centuries peasantry, but foolishly we forgot to build for the society we have today… oopsie, we stoopy
Maybe it’s time they stopped spending 100′s of millions on unecessary projects abroad and build up their coffers, they have known about this exact situation and have used it in the past to explain why they can’t spend money at home, bing fiscally prudent was the term used.
@Miriam McEnteggart: FFG and fiscally prudent don’t belong in the same sentence!
@Miriam McEnteggart: That’s exactly what Trump is doing to protect his country. The carbon footprint of shuffling goods across oceans instead of manufacturing in the country of use is a serious problem.
Reminds me of Baldrick ” I have a cunning plan “
A recession is what’s needed then the government my stop the illegals
@John Kenny: That’s what they want, but it will increase imports for cheap labor, look at the houses sold last week in one estate all to Indian buyers, No Irish need apply.
@John Kenny: Is that the best you can come up with, ‘blame the iIl eagles for everything’. It’s the white legal citizens of Europe who got us into this mess and who are probably extremely happy that Trump is giving them a reason to blame everyone else.
Ye are sounding like politicians yourselves, ignore the real problem, find someone else to blame and stuff accountability
@087 bed: Where was that & why couldn’t Irish people buy them?
Genuine question. I’ve seen plenty Hong Kong / Singapore investors at house viewings in Dublin.
@087 bed: bollocks
@Thomas Sheridan: they are coming with suitcases full of cash.
We have squandered our success. A tiny island, where everything is in shreds our own cant get out quick enough.
Disgusting.
@Paul Kavanagh: it’s actually mad ; others want to come here, and the Irish can’t wait to leave this drenched rock.
@Paul Kavanagh: “We have squandered our success”, so are you in the government?
@Paul Kavanagh: this has been goin on since the 40’s. Government don’t care about the youth they know they’ll leave, actually what they want them to do…
Scaremongering not going to happen.
A slow down sounds good to me, a few years on the dole, I might do a bit of travelling, see a bit more of the world
@brian o’leary: while it’s still there I suppose.
@Fergus O’Donnell: while I’m still here.
Go woke go broke.
@Áine G: Just like Tesla :)
Ireland will not know what has hit them. Big recession here by next summer definitely.
@Tommy Robinson: Big recession around the world.
@Me Me: so much excess to be got rid of. So why not cannon fodder ?
If they’re confident in their bunkers, why not go nuclear ?
There was a 50/60s b&w sf film of a paradise but when a siren sounded ; the people entered into a bunker and down into a horrible underground world.
I can’t remember its title.
@Tommy Robinson: is that you buster ,you little bollocks
Trump is completely re- tard- ed, no company is going to invest in manufacturing plants in the USA for 2 years or less (time to build it and find the workforce- and it’s generous). Any new president will remove those tariffs when he is gone.
@Alex: there aren’t enough people educated to a sufficient standard in the US to staff all the tech and pharma jobs if all the companies here moved back lock stock and barrell. Pharma manufacturing plants take years to build. Tariffs are a different story
@Dermot Blaine: and all the American multinational companies here know that. Not a chance they are going to sell up after huge investment. To go to the states and practically start from scratch. Time to emphasise on buying Irish, European and Canadian. Let Trump reap what he’s sowed.
@Dermot Blaine: tariffs build factories, they can put them up in no time and with all the construction that they will bring, they will attract labour from all over, the world and monitor all immigrations that they need, short time visas and professional IT workers.
@Phillip Smyth: but the US won’t allow immigrants in, especially for basic labour needs, they have enough of that in the uneducated red states.
As regards HB 1 visas, allowing in tech experts etc, new restrictions are in place. Even if they allowed unrestricted immigration for this group its going to take years to get the required number, that’s if any smart person would be willing to become an immigrant in this now toxic country for immigrants where exercising free speech is enough to get you deported.
@Dermot Blaine: there will be visas strictly monitored that’s for, and they will come, it will be like we had only difference we are in the EU and we let in every cat dog and divil, come across our borders unchecked, you have to admit it’s a disaster and we are in serious trouble.
@Phillip Smyth: I doubt many people will want to move to the US, seeing how ICE can just kidnap and disappear people without even so much as a warrant. Where will they find all the white English speaking men with the right education? The scientists are leaving the US as well, so no new drug developments there. Trump is even trying to stop research that he doesn’t like in other countries. And now he wants a third term.
Meanwhile, our politicians have spent the last 4 months fluting around; doing nothing apart from childish squabbling as well as supporting ME terrorists and turning our tourist centres into a chain of scammigration centres.
@Thomas Sheridan: well said, arguing about speaking rights and then when they do talk it’s about an occupied territories bill that won’t actually help people. Spending 1 billion euro per year on aslyum accommodation, and the list goes on. The country needs to focus on the people living it and how we can survive the next few years
@Mary Kelly: it’s not about speaking rights, it’s about the fact that Lowry will get a chair of a committee (and all the extra money that comes with that) rather than another member of the opposition. The opposition can’t be having that so are fighting and using speaking time as the reason, not lining their own pockets.
@The next small thing: I agree but surely to jazus it can’t be that hard to sort out. The Dail chamber has now done nothing since November.Not that there’s much the Dail could do about the Trump situation except spout hot air and grandstand
@The next small thing: nearly 3 hrs would be lost
@Dermot Blaine: no doubt ffg will be blaming the opposition for this,as they tried to ram through Lowrys demand’s Dermot…I do generally agree with your comment though
Imagine if Trump’s people came here to audit the books, this government would be surely in the nick.
@Phillip Smyth: Musk is not auditing the books he’s just cutting everything without any thought or due process. Look at the number of people they’ve had to reinstate. By all means we need to eliminate waste, but not the way Trump is doing it.
@Dermot Blaine: never mentioned Musk.
@Dermot Blaine: we are spending like confetti and on silly projects I don’t need to spell it out for you.
@Phillip Smyth: And Trump is confirming recession in America, if you care about ordinary people it’s depressing, that is the ordinsary that makes their profits. Hopefully workers will unite and realise their strength, probably your greatest fear, well why else does the US fear socialism?
@Brian D’Arcy: of course I care about ordinary people I am the ordinary people, I did not elect these shysters, and yes orange is not an edible food in this instance, it’s monstrous what he is doing and his administration.
@Phillip Smyth: That’s my dream!
@Phillip Smyth: so who in the Trump administration is auditing? Who did you have in mind in your comment?
@Dermot Blaine: all sort of lick {A….} particularly good looking women, sweet Caroline, not unlike lord haw haw and Tokyo Rose Propaganda unleashed on a massive toy way answerable to no one all yes sir no sir, it surely will implode.
FFG , SF, Labour, SocDems, et al, are a gang of total amateurs, not fit to be in charge of a wheelbarrow!
Not once do they mention the Irish in this article.are we being taken over by people who are not Irish ?
@Altoir: feck away off
Chips are going to be as cheap as chips in leixlip.
What’s happening in America is disgraceful and a terrible abuse of power, but in spite of the orange B he has found huge corruption in the Biden administration. It’s happening here with just roaming along. Hospitals bike sheds security huts lies can’t form a government etc etc, and now they have been caught out with their trousers down, this country is in a mess.
Why the glee at a domestic economic collapse? Well, a lack of education can contribute to certain factors that increase susceptibility to feelings of disillusionment or a desire for radical change. People with less access to education are often more vulnerable to misinformation and propaganda, which can manipulate their perceptions of Ireland’s situation. It leads to distorted views of reality & a belief that the current system is irredeemable. A lack of education also often correlates with economic hardship, which can breed resentment and frustration towards our government(s) and existing power structures. We know that Populist leaders often take advantage of people that are less educated, by giving them easy answers to complex problems. “I love the poorly educated”, as the fella said.
@Jack Hayes: there’s a lot of truth in what you say, I wouldn’t disagree with nearly all of it, but it doesn’t mean that they are wrong, many people may be uneducated and frustrated and may desire radical cal change of govt, but we have been run as a tax haven profiting from taxes taken from other jurisdictions where they were generated. This isn’t illegal but it’s also not sustainable in the long run ( not to mention unfair) and Irish gifts have run up massive debts never mind using this massive tax grab to build a sustainable economy, like say Norway have done with their oil windfall, which they seem to have figured out us not sustainable.
@Jack Hayes: Well said.
The Irish economy is finished come liberation day next week. Its going to be a wonderful sight to see. The tax scam economy is finished.
@Rian O’Sullivan: Troll.
@Rian O’Sullivan: how are they all in Arbour Hill?
@Rian O’Sullivan: Don’t forget it’s that tax which is paying your disability allowance.
@Jack Hayes: Yes indeed you are everything Insaid is factual and correct
@Fergus O’Donnell: Not sure but feel free to ask your inmate pals. Hope you are all doing ok in there.
@Jack Hayes: Incorrect again Jack lad I have never claimed welfare once in my life. Where as you kid have never been off it.
@Rian O’Sullivan: Did your missus leave you or something, your very bitter.
@Daniel Gilroy: Nope live is amazing what about you kid.
@Rian O’Sullivan: Something quite off about someone who revels in others misfortune. We can all disagree and argue, but it’s perverse to find others suffering amusing. I’m all good by the way. Thanks for asking.
@Rian O’Sullivan: your not Irish so. If your happy about Trump damaging Irish economy.. nor do you live here.. where you from sad sack..?
@Daniel Gilroy: Glad to hear it. Its wonderful to get the message across that Irelands tax scam economy is absolutely finished.
@John Bathe: Born and bred Irish lad just enjoying President Trump absolutely destroying the fake Irish economy. The funny thing is deep down you know our economy is an absolute tax scam.
@Rian O’Sullivan: Sub normal IQ chief then… recession will put people out of jobs.. if you want that than your a sad sad joke.. no life have you chief.. just a keyboard and tissues to wank into about Trumpy..hilariously sad non life you have..
@Rian O’Sullivan: I doubt you are Irish, either you are not or you have major mental health problems if you are.
@John Bathe: ah thats nice you are confirming you have a low IQ that’s nice kid. Also glad you understand that the Irish economy is dead and nothing but a tax scam that has being found out and President Trump has cancelled Ireland and its filthy lies.
@FFS This: 100% Irish lad who can admit his country is nothing but a tax scam.
@FFS This: are you saying that non nationals have mental issues ?
@Altoir: No they just need to leave as they are a drain on society.
@Rian O’Sullivan: definitely a Brit
@sean weir: Are you thanks for telling us.
Excuse from our nation :) all migrants claiming social welfare and have never worked. Also all ex taxi drivers, former vape shop operators and former none Irish barbours now on welfare on disability
@Trevor Beacom: mad because they do what most Irish do?
@Trevor Beacom: Any facts with your lies.
Irish pharma ain’t going anywhere. Yes, all are a bit cautious now, but who wouldn’t with the orange clown flip flopping. Huge money being invested by big pharma in Ireland proper long-term investment. Orange clown won’t be there forever either…
@Shimo F: Irish pharmaceutical is American Pharmaceutical.
@Shimo F: Where is the new Irish pharmaceutical investments.
The Indo headline says otherwise.
Investment tally shows big pharma pivot back to US already underway
A touch of haugheys off that comment. Don’t do as we do, do as we say
A false perception to create in Irish voters an illusion that the country is mismanaged while the real fear should be that populist but economically illiterate government will destroy the economy and create poverty and conflict. Ireland’s open opportunity personal freedom has created inequality not government.
@thomas molloy: Agreed. The US is indeed a ‘populist but economically illiterate government’. What’s weird is that so many would see Ireland competent bottom out, just to stick it to a small few. Odd.
@thomas molloy: lol. Economically illiterate? You really haven’t been paying attention.
Everything going to go up and up
H. S. E writes off millions to overpaid cronies, then to rub our noses in it they lash out more millions in golden handshakes to retiring insiders, you can be sure no frontline workers need apply.
that burke lad anything to dodgy ray burke ff!!!
We have so much red tape labour is difficult to get.it takes ages for projects to successfully complete.
State agencies are not answerable to anybody…its like trudging through mud upto your knees trying to get anything to mobilise
We pander to the few to the cost of the many.
Start fixing these issues and we might get traction but I am afraid it’s all wishes and no action.
Great time to get busy writing about science fiction it’s happening right now in full motion and the characters are real,you couldn’t write it, what name on the cover?
66.5 billion an year.45% of GDP generated. Minus that and see what is left in the coffin.It will be very hard to balance in the current situation.
People have been saying this for years but were met with deaf ears, Government we enjoying their junkets and everything was rosey, we have department spending out of control in the likes of Health and OPW, meanwhile others like Justice are massively under funded
We’re still dealing with bank crash austerity, this tariff garbage should be dealt with fast.
Setting up the perfect excuse for missing housing targets. Again.
have your say