Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will use this opportunity to pivot to discussions on transatlantic trade opportunities, given that was the main focus, and the opportunity to have the US trade representative contribute via videoconference. All these things present great opportunities for the European Union as a whole. The Tánaiste talks understandably about the logjams in respect of the steel sector and aviation. It is not necessarily a big issue for Irish manufacturers but a closer US-EU trade relationship matters. I do not imagine we will get back to the resurgence of transatlantic trade and investment partnership or some formal trade agreement at this stage, but I would appreciate if the Tánaiste could lay out the strategy for Irish trade with North America in light of the positive trade council and the sectors where we could look, post-pandemic, to stress our ability to export to the United States. Maybe we could get trade missions going where there are great opportunities for workers throughout the country.

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