AN Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said today that Ireland will use ‘every avenue’ at its disposal to weather the potential storm of American trade tariffs. The White House is expected to make an announcement Wednesday which could see world markets thrown into chaos if their economic plans are carried out.
US President Trump said that reciprocal tariffs will now include ‘all nations’, a much bigger coterie than the initial group of ten to fifteen countries with which the United States has the largest trade imbalances.
Ireland is expected to pursue bilateral contact with the US, as well as forming part of a joint EU response. Mr Martin said that Ireland is ‘fundamentally part of the European Union’ and will support any agreed-upon EU response.
The Taoiseach said: “Trade is an exclusive function of the Commission, but obviously we will be intensifying our bilateral contacts with the US, both with the US administration and with companies who are going to impacted by any potential tariffs.
“We will be using every avenue at our disposal but primarily with the European Union and bilaterally and with companies.”
Mr Martin said that the tariffs will be devastating for the global economy, potentially negatively impacting growth around the world. Europe is expected to formulate its joint response to the tariffs within the next few days and, the Taoiseach said ‘in that period the members states working together can be strategic in terms of response’.
“Strategic responses are important… [So] we don’t invite more damage in our response and do it in a way that maximises Europe’s leverage.”
ESRI is predicting an overall fall in GNP and Mr Martin has said that Ireland must be adaptable to avoid the worst of its potential impact.
“That which we can control, we need to do better at. In Ireland specifically, it means better delivery and investment in capital infrastructure, specifically on water, grid connections and the energy portfolio.”
The Taoiseach also said that investment into these areas of the economy will cushion some of the impact from the tariffs, as well as bringing down the costs for businesses as Ireland attempts to rebalance.
See More: An Taoiseach, Donald Trump, EU, Micheál Martin, US Tariffs
