Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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5. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his position regarding potential increased tariffs with regard to the US; and the preparations being made for same. [38025/25]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Another week has brought another dramatic statement from President Trump. It is hard to interpret what will happen with his announcement of potential 200% tariffs on pharmaceuticals. We can all guess and gauge how accurate it is. People who work in pharmaceutical companies, life sciences and all these sectors are concerned. The direction of travel is in a particular direction. It is vital that we are alive to it and respond to it.

What is the Government's response in preparation for the potential impact of tariffs and retaliatory measures?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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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.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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That is very important. A related but not identical by any means sector is life sciences and orthopaedics. This is another sector in which Ireland has a very significant footprint and which, unlike pharmaceuticals, is already affected by the 10% in that area. I would ask whether that has had an impact as of yet.

I will briefly flag two sectors which, because they involve items that are on the shelf, do not have the same lead-in and are probably particularly vulnerable in the short run, that is, agrifood and, in particular, dairy products, and drink, including whiskey. They are very vulnerable sectors as well to any potential impacts. In terms of the reciprocal tariffs, some progress has been made on the dairy side but perhaps less so on the whiskey side. Preparation on this needs to step up. The examination of potential supports for individual businesses is needed, whether it is export facilitation or whatever. Where is that at?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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We will shortly bring our action plan on market diversification to Cabinet. That is a joint initiative between my Department and the Department of enterprise. Of course, as part of that, we will have to look at how we can help Irish companies looking to export to new markets too. The priority at the moment is to try to minimise the impact of tariffs, however. We have published our economic impact assessment through the Department of Finance. In my letter to Maroš Šefčovič on reciprocal tariffs, I specifically referenced agrifood, aviation, med tech and pharma as key areas of concern from an Irish perspective. On pharma specifically, the US section 232 national security investigation into the import of pharmaceuticals, semi-conductors and commercial aircraft and jet engines is ongoing. I spoke to the US trade representative, ambassador Jamieson Greer, and made the point that we should seek to work together on pharma, and we can do something mutually beneficial. US pharma companies need access to a market of 460 million people in the EU. He did say to me on that call that the US was open to creative solutions, so those dialogues continue.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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I will raise two more issues, the first of which I have raised in briefings with the Tánaiste's officials and, in fairness, they are well aware of the importance of it. From an Irish point of view, the potential for distortions between North and South is a very particular risk that we face. It is not in anyone's interest. We could have a seesaw-type effect that might favour one side of the Border at another stage but, ultimately, it would create a distortion because that could flip. Many products travel across the Border multiple times before they hit the shop shelves.

The other issue is one on which to proceed with caution and with our eyes wide open because of the fraught history relating to it. When these functions were still with the Department of enterprise, the Minister of State at the time, Deputy Calleary, responded to a question on export credit insurance and whether there was a need for a State-backed scheme. Ireland is unusual in not having this for historical reasons. At the time, the position was that the private market was covering enough. The situation has changed a bit in the past three or four years. What is the Government's position on such insurance?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I have not received any advice on changing that position but on foot of this, let me give it some consideration and come back to the Deputy.

On the North-South elements, co-operation is excellent. I interact with the Deputy's party colleague and one of my counterparts, Economy Minister, Dr. Caoimhe Archibald, on a regular basis, and the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. We discussed the issue of trade and tariffs at the North-South Ministerial Council in County Armagh recently and also in our bilateral meetings at the British-Irish Council, also held in the North the week before that. There is, therefore, ongoing engagement at both official and political level, as there should be.

On the issue of briefings, I reiterate that my Department remains available and will continue to provide briefings to all interested Oireachtas Members and, of course, to the Deputy, Opposition parties and, indeed, the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, as appropriate, because we are in a time of huge uncertainty and we need to continue to provide the latest information across the House as it becomes available.