US-EU trade negotiations could be on the horizon after 90-day tariff delay, says Taoiseach
Taoiseach Micheal Martin during a press conference at Government Buildings in Dublin. Picture: PA
The US decision to pull back on tariffs for 90 days provides an opportunity for negotiations with the EU, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
Mr Martin has urged negotiations to take place between the EU and the US, but the ongoing threat of a trade war remains far from over.
The Taoiseach said he spoke with CEOs from the pharmaceutical industry, who urged the EU not to overreact to the US tariffs.
“Different voices in the US administration also cautioned ‘don’t go in with a bazooka’,” Mr Martin added, speaking to .
However, Mr Martin said there has always been an expectation that negotiations would take place to resolve the trade war.
“But we're far from out of the woods yet,” Mr Martin added.
“Clearly the bond markets was a key factor as well in terms of the timing of this decision because it was quite scary yesterday in terms of what was happening both on the bond market and in terms of stocks as well and then thirdly we're beginning to see some real concern on the Hill among Senators and Congress.”
Despite the delay, Mr Martin cautioned that a 10% tariff would still be levied on EU exports throughout the 90-day pause, while existing 25% tariffs on steel, aluminium and cars would remain in place.
On Thursday, the EU announced a 90-day pause in its retaliation against earlier 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminium imposed by Mr Trump.
It had approved countermeasures which were due to come into effect in stages from April 15, reported to include orange juice and coffee as well as motorcycles and boats.
Bourbon whiskey is reported not to have been included in the list despite previously being targeted by the EU.
Mr Trump previously threatened a 200% tariff on EU drinks if bourbon was included, prompting significant concern for the Irish drinks sector.
The Irish Government welcomed the move by the EU to pause the measures.
Mr Martin said that the EU and US could “engineer a package”, including on issues around non-tariff barriers, to improve economic relationships between the two trade blocs.
He added the US have “very legitimate issues” with EU trade rules, but moves towards tariffs were a “very blunt way” to approach the world economy.
However, Mr Martin cautioned that the US were still considering measures to target the pharmaceutical industry.
“We’ve got to keep on saying you will damage your own companies if you go about it the way you were going to go about it,” Mr Martin added.
Earlier, Tánaiste Simon Harris said he is now confident that substantial trade negotiations between the EU and US will begin after meeting his counterpart in Washington.
Mr Harris has briefed EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič after “detailed and substantive" discussions with the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The Tánaiste took the opportunity to debrief the Trade Commissioner on the content of the discussions.
The two also discussed the ongoing preparations at a European level to have meaningful engagement with the United States.
Mr Harris said: “It has been my consistent position and the consistent position of the Irish Government and the European Union that we need to get into substantive, calm, measured dialogue with the United States.
“It has always been our preference that would have happened before tariff announcements. Clearly that was not the position of the United States.
“However, after my discussions yesterday, it is now clear to me that such engagement and negotiation is likely.
“I believe it needs to have in a timely fashion. All sides need to engage in good faith because uncertainty and turmoil is not the way forward.
“The trading relationship between the EU and the US is worth €1.6 trillion per year. It’s massively important in terms of jobs, growth and investment in Ireland, across the European Union and in America.
Mr Harris added: “Yesterday’s discussions with Secretary Lutnick were an opportunity to be updated directly and to gain an insight into the US position on a range of these matters.
“I look forward to further engagement with my European counterparts in the hours and days ahead.”
European Commission Spokesperson for Economic Security and Trade, Olof Gill, has said the Commission will continue to respond to US tariffs "in a calm, coherent way."
Speaking on , Mr Gill said it was still too early to determine what will happen next.
“I think we can all agree that the situation is volatile, changing day by day—sometimes hour by hour. So we’re going to proceed as we have been all along: in a calm and coherent way."
He said the European Commission, which is responsible for EU trade policy, would continue consulting with member states and industry stakeholders to carefully chart the next steps.
“We're going to take the time we need to reflect on this latest development in a calm, coherent way, in synchronisation with our member states and with our industry," Mr Gill said.
"And you'll be aware, I'm sure, that yesterday our member-states, with near total unanimity, gave the Commission a mandate to go forward with our proposed countermeasures on the first wave of US tariffs."
“Now, whether we proceed on that basis remains to be seen. We're going to take the time we need to assess this internally, but we will always stand by our member states, our consumers and our industry.
"And I add that we've said from the get-go in this whole saga that we want to negotiate, that what we're interested in doing with the Americans is reducing tariffs, even eliminating them, not allowing them to escalate."
He added: "We're still ready to negotiate and we'll be talking to our American counterparts as we go along.”
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