Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was “very, very conscious” of the thousands of jobs that rely on the economic relationship between the United States and Ireland as he arrived to Austin, Texas, at the beginning of a trip that will include a St Patrick’s Day ceremony at the White House.
“My overriding objective is to copper-fasten [the relationship] for the time ahead,” Mr Martin said.
The Taoiseach’s annual visit to the US has taken on additional gravity due to moves by US president Donald Trump and his administration to rebalance trade with other economies.
He has already imposed or announced tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, and last month he threatened tariffs of 25 per cent on goods from the European Union, claiming the bloc was designed to “screw the United States”.
Owen Doyle: Some decisions made in the Ireland v France game were utterly bizarre
Ireland is emerging from winter, but maybe hold off mowing your lawn for now
Jennifer Zamparelli: ‘We bought a sauna five years ago. My neighbours probably think we’re mad’
Jogger whose leg was broken in alleged collision with e-bike on footpath takes prosecution
Ireland would be particularly exposed to tariffs, with a large proportion of its exports heading to the US, particularly in pharmaceuticals.
The Taoiseach was scheduled to visit PC maker Dell and software testing company Tricentis on Monday morning in Austin before meeting the governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, on Monday afternoon.
[ Ireland is more exposed to Trump’s tariff war than any other European countryOpens in new window ]
On Wednesday, he is due to meet Mr Trump bilaterally as part of traditional engagements in Washington.
The trip will take five days in all.
“I am taking this day by day. This is a very important day in terms of our visit in Austin,” Mr Martin said.
“Our strategy is not withstanding all the commentary and so on is to bring home 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.
“But I am looking forward to the meeting in the White House, obviously, but we will have plenty of time to discuss that later in the week.”
He added: “I will take it as I would take any other meeting. We respect the president, of course, and the mandate he has, and we look forward to that engagement.”
[ Micheál Martin goes into the lion’s den as he heads for Trump’s Oval OfficeOpens in new window ]
He declined to elaborate on the likely talking points of Wednesday’s sit-down. The potentially acrimonious issues of tariffs and Ireland’s stated position on Gaza, which featured prominently during then taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s meeting with then president Joe Biden a year ago, could well define the success of the engagement.
But Mr Trump offered warm words about Irish-America in signing a recent executive order marking March as a heritage month for that demographic and Mr Martin emphasised the strength of the relationship between the countries.
“It is a meeting, primarily, in the tradition is one of celebrating the Irish-American diaspora in the US. It is a huge relationship.
“And then the economic relationship between the two countries: we will really be bringing home the message that Ireland has been good for American investment in Ireland, that Ireland has added value to the US companies located in Ireland.
“There will be a to and fro, no doubt, on various issues as there is every year, but we will do it in a good way.”
Mr Martin departs for Washington on Tuesday afternoon following a busy series of engagements in Austin, where the SXSW festival is taking place. He will take part in an open interview in the festival’s main conference hall on Monday afternoon.
“This is a very strong emerging economic relationship between here and Ireland, in particular with a new wave of Irish investment in the state – 20 Irish companies creating about 4,000 jobs,” he said.
