John Whelan: Ireland needs a EU-US trade deal to protect pharma

The US-UK trade deal gives the Irish government and EU negotiators some indication of the potential negotiating tactics to avoid tariffs

Pfizer is just one of the numerous US pharmaceutical firms with operations in Ireland who would be under threat from tariffs. 

The Donald Trump administration is caught on the razor’s edge of trying to bring home pharmaceutical manufacturing to the US by threatening tariffs on imports but in doing so he is risking increasing costs to US consumers which are already one of the highest internationally.

The recent rapid rise in US imports of pharmaceuticals from Ireland and across the EU has exacerbated the issue for Mr Trump.