Ireland on alert after Trump imposes tariffs but relieved over pharma exclusion

You can say what you want about Donald Trump but he knows how to shake it up when he is shaking you down.

His Liberation Day announcement was a piece of theatre, a spectacle. The Rose Garden had been turned into a giant Star Spangled Banner. He had dozens of steel workers, and auto workers, among the suits, wearing their work overalls and their Bob the Builder Hat.

He made Howard Lutnick, his Trade secretary and the former head of global firm Cantor Fitzgerald, walk up to the podium. Like a child from Rang a hAon, he had to do a ‘show and tell’ with a cardboard sign showing a list of countries with the tariffs applied to them. Lutnick loved it.

And the speech. Rambling. Excessive. Egomaniacal. Mad in places. Self-referencing. It will go down a treat with his base and with parts of middle America.

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Mr Trump held up a chart with a list of the tariffs to be imposed on various countries: China will face 34 per cent tariffs; Switzerland 31 per cent; Israel 17 per cent; Vietnam 46 per cent; Taiwan 32 per cent; Japan 24 per cent; India 26 per cent; and South Korea 25 per cent.

A small sample of the hyperbole. For years foreign countries had “looted, raped, pillaged and plundered” America.

“Foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories

“Foreign scavengers have taken our dreams.”

And: “This is one of the most important days in American history. It is our declaration of American independence.”

A little later: “the golden age of America. It’s coming back and coming back very strongly.”

There was a lot of stuff that would hit home with an American audience. He talked about 90,000 factories being shuttered. He said that even if you got a giant map you could not put a pin on each one of those. He told his audience there were more ships being produced in a single Chinese shipyard each year than in all the US shipyards combined.

Now all of the claims, as is usual with the US President, look far less solid after fact-checking. He said that the US would impose tariffs that were 50 per cent of those being imposed by that country. Vietnam was hit by 46 per cent; Cambodia by 49 per cent, Sri Lanka and Myanmar by 44 per cent, Madagascar by 47 per cent, and Laos by 48 per cent.

For the EU it was 20 per cent across the board. As Pat Leahy write in our main story, President Trump fired the first shots in a global trade war. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said lsat night the European Union is prepared to respond with countermeasures if talks with Washington fail.

Did Ireland dodge a bullet?

There were real fears that the tariffs would be sector specific as well as country specific. Ireland would be particularly affected if tariffs had been applied on pharmaceutical products, which account for more than €50 billion of our exports to the US each year.

In the end, pharma was included in a small list of excluded products, that included lumber and bullion. There was speculation last night that the decision to exclude pharmacists might have been borne by concerns it would have increased the cost of medical insurance for blue collar workers in America.

That will come as a relief to the Government as it means that pharma will not be subject to the 20 per cent levy. However, there is no guarantee that it will not be added at a later stage, as the president and his cabinet have specifically mentioned it in the past as a target for tariffs.

The only industry specific tariff mentioned was automobile manufacturing which will now be subject to a 25 per cent tariff. It’s not know at this stage if that will be on top of the 20 per cent, or will mean an extra 5 per cent. In any instance, it will not impact on Ireland.

So what will be the impact on Ireland?

It’s still not ideal. Within minutes of the speech in the Rose Garden coming to an end, Taoiseach Michéal Martin issued a statement in which he said the imposition of tariffs is bad for the world economy.

“Tariffs drive inflation, hurt people on both sides of the Atlantic, and put jobs at risk.”

He said Europe would work in unity and that the Irish economy was resilient and would weather the storm. However, he said the State now needs to focus on factors that we can control, including improving our competitiveness and investing in infrastructure”.

There are two risks for Irish exporters. The first is for the agriculture and food sector. It’s not so much the 20 per cent tariff but the fact that the United Kingdom and New Zealand have been subject to tariffs of only 10 per cent. Those two countries are Ireland’s biggest competitors in the agriculture sector, especially for meat and dairy.

Last night, the Irish Farmers’ Association said that would leave Ireland at a competitive disadvantage, in a market that makes up 11 per cent of our total food and drink exports.

“Kerrygold is now the second bestselling butter brand in the US, where we sent almost €500m worth of product in 2024. The market accounts for about 7.5% of our total dairy exports.”

There are also fears in the drink industry. The EU response to the first set of tariffs will be announced in the middle of April and provisionally includes bourbon whisky. If the US retaliates by imposing tariffs on European alcohol, it will have big implications for the Irish whiskey and spirits industry on top of the tariffs. Already it is at a disadvantage to Britain where Scotch whisky will have a tariff of 10 per cent.

Best Reads

Cliff Taylor’s analysis on what the announcement will mean for the Irish economy. He says they will pose a threat to jobs and investment.

The shot that was heard around the world. Pat Leahy’s political analysis on the first volleys in a global trade war.

Podcast: Trump tariffs what did he announce and how will Ireland respond?

Miriam Lord’s column looks at the decision by the Opposition to walk out when Carol Nolan stood up for the first ever Other Members’ Questions. The portable was that not only did the Opposition benches empty, so did those of the Government. Ergo, not amazingly effective.

Meanwhile also Elon Musk will be leaving his role as head of the US Department of Government Efficiency at the end of May. His terms of office was apparently for 130 days.

Playbook

Dáil

08.47: Parliamentary Questions to Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe. This will provide the first opportunity to hear his first detailed response to the Trump tariffs.

10.23: Parliamentary Questions to Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers.

12.00: Leaders’ Questions.

12.34: Other Members’ Questions.

12.42: Questions on Policy or Legislation.

13.52: Statements on Diverting Young People from Criminal Activity.

15.24: Topical Issues.

17.24: Dáil adjourns.