Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the imposition of US tariffs on Ireland and the European Union. I will echo the Taoiseach. There is no justification for the imposition of these tariffs, none whatsoever. What we are witnessing is not simply a policy misstep, it is a backwards step. These tariffs will hurt businesses, workers and families on both sides of the Atlantic. My constituency of Dún Laoghaire is home to high-value exporters from fintech to pharmaceutical innovators who ship directly to the United States. I know the harm these tariffs will cause. Some 80% of our pharma exports to the US are not finished goods. They are critical components of the American supply chains, parts of the global engine that makes healthcare work. Now that engine is being clogged by policy rooted in protectionism, not partnership. Let us be clear that these tariffs will not just land on the ledgers of European exporters. They will also show up in the monthly budgets of millions of American families. They will raise the cost of medicine, squeeze small businesses and pause investment, some of which unfortunately has already begun. They threaten to unravel what has long been a success story, the deeply integrated, mutually beneficial EU-US trading relationship. In Ireland and across Europe, we believe in enterprise. We believe in fair trade and we believe in negotiation, because that is how responsible nations resolve disputes, not with tariffs but with dialogue. That is why Ireland strongly supports the EU's readiness to sit down at the table today, tomorrow, whenever the US is ready to talk seriously. However, while we hope for peace, we must prepare for pushback. If negotiations fail, we will stand with our EU partners in defending our economic interests proportionately, firmly and fairly. This is not just about trade. It is about the kind of world we want to build, one where rules matter, co-operation triumphs over compulsion and shared prosperity remains our common goal.

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