Tánaiste warns against EU-US trade deal delay, citing risk to jobs and investment

Simon Harris urges negotiators to reach agreement before July 9, warning continued uncertainty could hurt Irish exporters

Simon Harris has urged negotiators to focus on reaching a deal before the July 9 deadline. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

An extension of the deadline for an EU-US trade deal would not be positive, as it would prolong uncertainty for exporters, the Tánaiste has said.

Simon Harris has urged negotiators to focus on reaching a deal before the July 9 deadline.

On Thursday evening, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated that US president Donald Trump could extend the deadline for agreeing a deal with the EU, describing the cutoff as “not critical.”

Mr Harris said there must now be intensive engagement between the EU and US to prevent further uncertainty for businesses.

“We need to work really intensively to try and get a deal, at least a framework, a deal in advance of July 9, for one very big reason, uncertainty,” Mr Harris said.

“Uncertainty is causing people to pause their investment decisions. That has an impact on jobs.

“There's people in factories today in Ireland who want that certainty, businesses want certainty. So what we don't need is an elongation of the period of uncertainty.” 

Speaking in Cork, Mr Harris said many people working in the pharmaceutical sector may feel anxious about potential tariffs.

However, he added that an agreement between the US and EU “is possible.”

“In fact, I believe an agreement is absolutely essential, because the level of trade between the US and the EU is far too high to be sniffed at, regardless of who the occupant of the Oval Office is.

“We are interdependent, and certainly in my conversations with President Trump's Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, I specifically made the case that we need to come up with creative solutions in relation to the pharma industry that are good for the US and good for the EU, because our global supply chains are interdependent.” 

Mr Harris added that patients rely on pharmaceutical trade, saying “creative solutions” are needed that work for both the EU and US.

The US administration had previously threatened to impose a 50% tariff on EU goods, after President Donald Trump in May said talks were “going nowhere.” 

That statement prompted a flurry of calls between senior EU and US diplomats, leading to the agreement of the July 9 deadline for talks.

Earlier this week, Ireland’s European Commissioner Michael McGrath said there might not be enough time for a “comprehensive” trade deal between the EU and US, but he hoped the “outline” of an agreement could be reached before then.

Mr McGrath noted that experience shows comprehensive trade deals take significant time to complete.

“It may not be possible to have the level of detail that you would normally have in a trade agreement completed by July 9, but hopefully we can have the outline of the agreement that can provide the stability we need,” Mr McGrath said.