Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy Ó very much for raising this because he is right that the EU-US negotiations are now at a critical juncture. Our position, I think across party lines, has been clear as a country. Tariffs threaten the hugely successful EU-US and Ireland-US economic relationship. They are bad for businesses, consumers and workers, and they are bad on both sides of the Atlantic.

Since April, many Irish exports to the US have been subject to an additional 10% tariff - that is in place today - and the imposition of these tariffs has had a negative impact on all types of businesses from multinational companies to small and medium enterprises and microenterprises. The extension of the deadline for the end of the US pause on higher tariffs from this Wednesday, 9 July until Friday, 1 August allows for further time for negotiations to continue, which is welcome. It would be much better to have an agreement, or at least a framework agreement, but it is welcome. It gives an indication that even President Trump realises he needs a deal with the European Union too. He cannot just ignore €4.5 billion worth of trade across the Atlantic Ocean in both directions each and every day. The European Commission is working towards reaching an agreement as soon as possible in advance of that deadline. We should not wait until 1 August. I hope to have conversations with the EU trade Commissioner in the coming hours. The EU's and Ireland's objective has always been to find a fair, balanced, mutually beneficial negotiated solution. The intention has been to limit the impact of the existing 10% baseline tariff but also to avoid additional tariffs being introduced. We want to reach an agreement in principle that provides certainty and then allows for more work to be done on zero for zero in as many sectors as possible. As the Deputy knows, we are doing a lot of this work through the Government Trade Forum, which is attended by senior Ministers and business representatives. Last Wednesday, I chaired the sixth meeting of the forum, which focused on protecting Irish jobs and our economy.

I will talk about pharma specifically because the Deputy asked about it. This is an area where there is uncertainty at the moment. The European position is very clear. The relationship is interdependent. We have global supply chains and patients. We need to work together with the EU and the US. A huge focus of our attention, both as a country and a European Union, will be on the pharma sector. I will come back with further detail on that.

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