Ireland key for US, says IDA

The IDA and business group Ibec reaffirmed Ireland’s importance to the US after President Donald Trump again questioned the reasons so many American companies have bases outside the US, and mentioned Ireland by name.

It is not the first time Mr Trump singled out Ireland. On the campaign trail last year, both he and Hillary Clinton questioned areas of the Irish tax regime that helped encourage US companies to provide up to 150,000 jobs in technology and pharmaceutical plants here.

But Mr Trump made the comments as a number of leading US business leaders, including the CEOs of drugs giant Merck, sports apparel maker Under Armour, and chip manufacturer Intel, stepped down as advisers, with some citing the president’s remarks on the weekend violence in Charlottesville.