Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for his presentation. I concur, particularly with his opening piece on the vulnerabilities within Ireland. I disagree with him in the sense that he talked about the vulnerability. I sit on the trade forum established by the Tánaiste since the trade war, or the utterance of trade wars, began. All the Government agencies and State bodies, such as Fáilte Ireland and the IDA, as well as the IFA are around the table, working collaboratively in ensuring we are best prepared for whatever the future may hold. The vulnerability, in my humble opinion, is created by our geography more than anything else. We provide a gateway into Europe for all American companies in this land. We cannot change the geography but we can try to ensure that companies and businesses across this island are built with the resilience they need to cope with whatever we may face. That is certainly happening within the Government and with that collaboration piece I spoke about on the trade forum established by the Tánaiste.

It is clear that one of the most immediate and serious challenges facing European policymakers today is the fundamental upheaval in the international trading system. The events of recent months have upended the trading order as we knew it, driven by a fundamental shift in how the world's largest economy has decided to conduct its trade policy, which is something we have no control over.

Last weekend’s developments took place in that context. The letter from President Trump to President von der Leyen was deeply regrettable. A 30% tariff will have a significant effect on the Irish and wider European economies. It could be detrimental. However, the EU continues to negotiate with the US in good faith. The Deputy asked in his opening statement for cool heads. I think nothing else could be said of everybody around the European Union, given their cool, calm and reasonable approach against difficult headwinds. Notwithstanding the letter, the fact remains that the deadline for talks is 1 August. The EU is at the negotiating table and will remain there. Negotiations are at an advanced stage. Now is the time to redouble our efforts and seek to achieve positive results in the time available.

The Government will continue to seek to protect our indigenous Irish businesses and our multinational companies from tariffs. As the Deputy also said in his opening gambit, tariffs are not just harmful to Irish companies. They are hugely harmful to the American economy as well. The Tánaiste is in ongoing communication with Commissioner Šefčovič and this will continue as we approach the deadline of 1 August.

At the Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) on Monday, the Commissioner outlined what had been the EU’s strategy since the outset of this dispute, which was to continue negotiations while, at the same time, preparing rebalancing measures, should they be required. The Irish Government and other member states strongly support this approach. EU unity is our greatest strength in these negotiations.

The Commission has shared a revised list for a possible second set of countermeasures. No formal proposal has been presented to member states for consideration at this point. Officials are examining the list against our known sensitivities.

Tariffs imposed by either side will cause pain.

However, it is unfortunately already the case that Irish and EU exports to the US have faced additional tariffs since April. Let us remember that, to date, the EU has not imposed any tariffs on US goods and we do not want to, but we must be prepared to act if negotiations are unsuccessful. This is the sensible and measured approach.

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