Stephen Cadogan: Why Irish dairy has escaped the brunt of US tariffs

Some economists predict an inflation surge in the US of an additional 3%, and say the US itself would be one of the most negatively affected economies by Trump's tariifs

Irish butter was always subject to a tariff of about 16%, which now falls to 15%.

Many in the Irish food industry are breathing sighs of relief as they evaluate the latest EU-US tariffs agreement, even as some nations still pick themselves off the floor after huge Trump tariffs slammed the trading door in their faces.

The small print in the EU-US Joint Statement on Transatlantic Trade and Investment indicated that the 15% Trump tariff on most EU goods will not be stacked. Agriculture minister Martin Heydon said: "This is positive for Irish butter exports in particular, which since April have faced an additional tariff rate of 10%, stacked on a pre-existing tariff of 16%."