Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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25. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has spoken formally with the United States trade representative (details supplied) in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47250/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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In the course of my role as Minister, I frequently meet with other Ministers for Trade, either bilaterally or at Trade Councils.

I met Ambassador Tai to discuss trade matters in a bilateral virtual meeting that took place in May 2021 in advance of a meeting of the EU Trade Council. USTR Tai also attended the aforementioned Trade Council via videoconference in May 2021 where an informal exchange of views was had between the Ambassador and all EU Trade Ministers.

My last bilateral meeting with Ambassador Tai was when I travelled to Washington DC on 27th and 28th September 2021. During this meeting I spoke about the strength of the Ireland-US trade and investment relationship, a digital and sustainable economic recovery and the impact of COVID-19 and Brexit. I also highlighted the role Ireland has to play in the wider global economy as an open, advocate for free trade and the rules based international system, and as a voice against protectionism, spoke of Ireland’s export performance during the pandemic and the role we can play as the US and the EU seek to secure, resilient supply chains.