'Liberation Day' tariffs will have profound effect on Irish economy

Consumer costs will increase across a range of items while uncertainty in pharma and tech could see wages dropping

The increased cost of exports to the US will have a direct negative effect on Irish business but the Trump tariffs will have a broader range of effects including pushing up costs to consumers and businesses in Ireland. Picture: Martin Meissner/AP

The impact of Donald Trump’s 'Liberation Day' tariffs announcement will be felt immediately in some areas but the knock-on impact on our jobs and industries will be deep and wide.

Whilst the effect of tariffs will impact on exports more than imports, tariffs are a zero sum game — that is, there are no winners. This is due to the fact that tariffs will be responded to by the EU in kind.