John Whelan: Europe's trade negotiators will eye up Ireland's access to Trump's commerce pick

Billionaire Howard Lutnick is the global chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald which has a significant presence in Ireland

Howard Lutnick (pictured), if he needed, can obtain the inside track on Ireland’s subsidies, tax breaks and other inducements available to US corporations operating here, which may leave Irish interests exposed. Photo: Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Billionaire Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s nominee for the key international trade post of US Commerce Secretary, is also the global chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which has a significant presence in Ireland with offices in Dublin, Cork and Limerick.

The commerce post has major implications for Ireland, as it handles the International Trade Administration, which sets tariffs on goods the US has determined are unfairly priced or subsidized, and the Bureau of Industry and Security, which imposes export controls to try to keep sensitive US technologies out of the reach of adversarial nations.