Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. McDonnell for his presentation. What he said at the end was one of the matters I was going to pick up on. Europe is negotiating and has shared objectives with Ireland, which are that we should not be in a tariff war and that we should be back to where we were. The issue is that positions could diverge. The point is that Ireland would exposed by an escalation in any trade war, particularly in the context of pharma, IT and the other sectors mentioned, including that relating to whiskey. From an Irish point of view, what would be the best strategy in a scenario where the US Administration imposed tariffs? There have been threats, bargaining chips and manoeuvres from Trump that many view as negotiating ploys. However, if this is clearly now taking effect, what options does Ireland have? Does it have to argue for a cautious approach on the part of Europe, given what we have seen from Trump? If Europe retaliates, he will retaliate. That is a problem if the sectors here are exposed.