Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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232. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the engagements he has had with representatives of Irish workers or employers regarding the potential impacts for Irish manufacturing as a result of a trade war between the United States and the European Union. [26768/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As a small, highly globalised economy, it is vital that we maintain a strategic focus on the international trading environment.

In February, the Government agreed to my proposal to establish the Trade Forum, with the aim of providing a vehicle to directly engage with key stakeholders - including worker and employer representative groups - on the latest and emerging trade and investment developments, opportunities and challenges.

In line with the transfer in responsibilities for trade policy to my Department in the Programme for Government, I chair the Forum and am very pleased to be joined at it by Ministerial colleagues reflecting the whole of Govt approach to resolving these issues.

In the short period since its establishment the Forum has quickly become an important strategic vehicle for engagement with key stakeholders on trade issues, including across Government, business organisations, trade unions, farmer and other representative groups.

The Forum has now met five times, most recently on 19 May, and focuses on the entirety of Ireland’s trading relationships. Meetings to date have included a focus on the EU – US trading relationship and as such have facilitated timely engagement on developments with its members, including inter alia the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and Ibec as well as hearing directly from sectors and companies concerned. In this way, it has been very important to listen to the concerns of workers and employers arising from the current economic climate in order to take stock and consider how best Ireland can respond both domestically and through our membership of the European Union.

I welcome this ongoing engagement. It is expected the Forum will next convene in June.