Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and other Members of Seanad Eireann. I welcome the opportunity to address the Seanad on the issues of international trade and international relations. Trade and our trading relations with partners around the world are, of course, at the core of the Irish economic model. It is not just an economic theory. It is at the core of how we see ourselves in the world. As an island people, we have always been traders. We have always looked beyond our shores and sought exchange, dialogue and interconnection.

International trade and international relations are, of course, deeply connected. They are best managed when understood together. That is why when we formed this Government, I took the decision to transfer responsibility for trade policy to the renamed Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade because of that interconnection. Against the turbulence of recent weeks, the uncertain outlook ahead and the announcements made by the US Administration last night, I am more convinced than ever that this was the right decision.

I would like to make use of the time this morning to update the House on work we have been doing to manage the challenging new international trade environment. I will also use this opportunity to update on some of our key foreign policy concerns, including the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as to report on our work over the St. Patrick’s Day period and our ongoing guest membership of the G20 group.

It is really no exaggeration to say the developments of recent weeks, and most particularly the developments of recent hours, are reshaping the international trade landscape. For Ireland and the EU, the announcement yesterday of a 10% baseline tariff on goods entering the US, along with reciprocal tariffs on certain trading partners, set at 20% for the EU, including Ireland, is the most serious escalation in a trade dispute that began last month, first with tariffs on steel and aluminium, and then on the car industry. These tariffs risk reshaping global value chains that have been built up over decades. My view, our view and Ireland's view on tariffs is crystal clear: they are economically damaging for all sides. They disrupt deeply integrated supply chains which benefit businesses and employers on both sides of the Atlantic. They drive inflation and hurt consumers.

We must be upfront and honest. A 20% blanket tariff on goods coming from the EU will have a significant effect on Irish investment and the wider Irish and EU economy. It represents a huge challenge to Irish exporters to the US across all sectors. There is a lot of focus today on big industry, and I understand why, but I want all of us to think this morning about small Irish businesses.In all of our towns, in all of our villages, in all of our constituencies, people have worked really hard to diversify markets. I think of people in my home town of Greystones who sell candles and diffusers, small businesses on the main street of my home town that are exporting to the United States, and have woken up this morning to great uncertainty. I hope and believe we will all speak with one voice on this. I want them to know that we have their back, we will work together and we will get through this together.

These tariffs will affect businesses up and down the country across all sectors. In a trading environment where we all know that the cost of doing business is a constant concern, that is, quite simply, a deeply unwelcome development.

It is important to be clear in trying to respond this morning to something that only happened late last night. There are many points that we still need to clarify, including the on-island differential effects. We need to assess the full details of the US plan, once it is released and published in the Federal Register. At this moment, it appears that pharmaceutical goods do not attract the reciprocal tariff. We must remember, however, that the Rose Garden event was a press conference and our officials, in the coming days, will have to assess in detail the legal orders that the US will and has presented that underpin that press conference.

I am also aware of previous suggestions by the US President and members of his Administration of potential tariffs on pharmaceuticals. This is something we are working very hard at a European level to try to avoid or mitigate. President von der Leyen said this morning that the European Commission will engage in strategic dialogue with particular sectors, including the pharmaceutical sector, to allow for us to work with like-minded countries on a way forward. That is really important. Ireland has a lot of pharma industry. As I keep saying, these companies do not come here for the weather. They come here because they do well in terms of having access from this small country to a market of more than 450 million people. We are not isolated on this issue. Around a dozen countries in the European Union have a very significant pharma presence. We should push back against the narrative that it is Ireland and Ireland alone when it comes to pharma. The analysis does not bear that out.

The EU - the 27 member states, including Ireland, and the Commission - will now assess yesterday's announcements. It is clear that firm and proportionate action to defend the interests of Irish and European businesses, workers and citizens will need to be considered. The European Commission has made this clear but that does not mean the Commission or Ireland will ever stop seeking to negotiate, seeking dialogue or seeking solutions that work for everyone. We will strongly encourage continued and intensified dialogue between the EU and the US. Together, we have the largest and most important bilateral trading relationship in the entire world. EU-US trade in goods and services reached €1.6 trillion in 2023 and the EU-US goods and services trade is actually broadly balanced. The difference between EU exports to the US and US exports to the EU stood at only €48 billion in a €1.6 trillion relationship, in other words, the equivalent of only 3% of total trade between the EU and the US. For our part, Ireland has a trade surplus in goods with the US and a trade deficit in services. While the trade surplus was €50 billion in 2024, it is estimated that the services deficit was €163 billion, meaning that Ireland has an overall deficit with the US in the order of €113 billion.

President von der Leyen said this morning that the EU is open to removing barriers to transatlantic trade. This message is important and welcome. We are ready to support efforts to make the global trading system more fit for purpose. Tariffs are not the way to do this. Negotiations are the way to make progress. Negotiations on transatlantic trade and an alternative path to reduce barriers, not raise them, are the way forward.

Maintaining open channels of communication and staying in close touch with all sides have been my guiding principles over the last period. Last week, I had a constructive and engaging call with the US Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Howard Lutnick, and we agreed to keep in contact. I remain in very close, often daily, contact with the EU trade Commissioner, Mr. Maroš Šefovi, and other EU trade ministers. I spoke with the Commissioner again yesterday. I have spoken in recent days with a range of EU counterparts, including those of Germany, Finland, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia and Sweden and I have a call with the Spanish trade minister this afternoon.

Next Monday, I will attend a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on Trade in Luxembourg. This will be the first opportunity for the EU 27 to come together at a political level. We will discuss how we can take forward our collective response. I will make it clear to colleagues that Ireland is absolutely committed to EU unity and that you have to negotiate from a position of strength but that any response must be proportionate and any response in terms of a list of reciprocal tariffs should be produced with one aim only, namely, to bring about a negotiation and get people to the table to find a negotiated way forward. A full-blown trade war is in no one's interest.

It is equally important to me that we have open, strong, two-way channels of communication with Irish business. This is why we established the Government trade forum to facilitate discussion with business stakeholders, State agencies and Departments.

We are in an uncertain period in global history.Nobody knows for sure what will happen in the weeks and months ahead. One of the wisest things we can do is listen to one another as we jointly shape our best responses and the best way forward. We have convened a further meeting of that forum for tomorrow.

I will make two points. People talk a lot about what supports should be put in place for business. I think it is agreed across the political divide that we have a proud track record in this country of supporting business, backing business, big and small, and not being found wanting in relation to that, but we should not jump over a very big piece of work now which is mitigation. The most important thing we can do in our national interest right now is work at an EU level to get to a better place. Rather than rushing to a conversation around supports and what supports, we should not accept the inevitability of the current rate being the rate forever. We need to focus in the hours, days and weeks ahead to get to a better negotiated position. I believe that is in our national interest.

The second point I want to make is that we will, of course, continue to work on an all-island basis. I had a call yesterday with the First Minister, the deputy First Minister and the economy Minister of Northern Ireland. We will continue those lines of communication in the days ahead. I will speak again to the economy Minister before I attend the meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, as we work through this.

I want to make a final point on international trade. This is a day of great uncertainty and nervousness for people who have gone out to work wondering what this means for them, the Irish economy, their family and their businesses. We are approaching this from a position of strength. Thankfully, we are living in a country with full employment, with more people in work than ever before, with budget surpluses and with money set aside for the rainy day. We have a proud track record over the generations of being a good place in which to do business. We are proudly embedded within the European Union. We understand the United States and how business works there. You know what? We will get through this together. That is an important point not to lose sight of as well.

I will briefly move to some other key recent developments in international relations that I know the Seanad is interested in. Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine has obviously had devastating impacts on the people of Ukraine but it has also impacted wider European security and prosperity. It, too, has disrupted trade flows. It has increased energy costs and, of course, it has impacted on global food security. While Ukraine, the US and the EU have shown their commitment to achieving peace, Russia persists with its war of choice through its relentless assault on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure. Let it be clear that there is nobody who wants peace more than the people of Ukraine. I have stood in Kyiv. I have been with the people of Ukraine. I have been with the President of Ukraine. They want peace. Putin may talk of peace while continuing to bomb civilian infrastructure, energy and ports. There is no doubt that of the two presidents involved here, one has committed to an unconditional ceasefire to help to bring about peace and the other is continuing to bomb while trying to set preconditions. These are not the actions of a country which has a genuine interest in peace. As the aggressor, it is for Russia to demonstrate the necessary willingness to engage in peace efforts by stopping these attacks and adhering to its commitments as part of a limited ceasefire.

Like every Member of the Oireachtas, I am extremely concerned by the negative trajectory of the situation on the ground in the Middle East, in Israel and in Palestine, particularly in Gaza. My focus and that of the Government is on supporting international efforts to bring about the immediate cessation of hostilities, a return to the ceasefire, a hostage release agreement and its full implementation including the release of hostages and the resumption of humanitarian access at scale. As we meet today, there is Irish aid in trucks in Jordan to help over 6,000 people in Gaza, but it cannot get in. It is a disgrace that food and shelter cannot get in. It is a disgusting situation. We need to see the hostages released absolutely without condition. We also need to see humanitarian aid flow. Ireland will use its voice in every forum - here, in the European Union and internationally - to continue to advocate for a return to the cessation of violence. That is an absolute priority. We will use all tools at our disposal - political, legal, diplomatic and humanitarian - in response to the dreadful conflict. Our engagement is guided by our long-standing and principled position of respect for international law, respect for the equal right to self-determination, peace, security, dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike, and unwavering support for the two-state solution as the only way to bring about permanent peace, security and stability in the region.

Finally, I would like to highlight to the Seanad that in December the Government was honoured to accept an invitation from South Africa for Ireland to participate as a guest country of South Africa's G20 Presidency, which runs until November. It is the first occasion ever that Ireland has been invited to participate in the G20 and we are keen to maximise this opportunity. Participation provides a unique opportunity to build on the investment made under Global Ireland and to work towards our ambition in the programme for Government to further strengthen Ireland's influence around the world. South Africa's priorities for the G20 Presidency align with Irish values. My colleagues in government and I have been working hard to maximise the opportunities for Ireland which participation in the G20 offers. With the prevailing international trade situation and the geopolitical developments, there is so much going on in the world, to put it mildly. We are facing a critical juncture. Our response, Ireland's response, to the challenges of the coming period has the potential to shape our economy and society not just for the months or years ahead, but for the next generation. This country is proudly on the side of openness, peace, negotiation and compromise. That is what this Government wants and I believe it is what the Irish people want. I look forward to working with Senators in this House in the time ahead. I congratulate those who are newly elected and newly appointed and I congratulate those who have returned. When I have to step out of this debate, my colleagues in the Department will continue to engage intensively. If I miss any of the questions that may come, I will be back directly in the days ahead. I thank the Seanad for having me here today. Let us work in our national interest at this critical juncture in our history. Go raibh maith agat.