The US administration’s “antipathy” towards the EU is “misplaced”, the Irish premier has said.
Micheal Martin acknowledged there was undoubtedly “an issue” in respect of the administration’s negative opinion of the bloc.
Mr Martin made the comments as he urged the EU and US to find a “sensible landing zone” to resolve the dispute over tariffs.
Ireland falls under the sweeping 20% tariff imposed on most EU exports to the US which was announced by President Donald Trump on Wednesday and will come into effect in the coming days.
Mr Martin said that many of the big US pharma and technology companies have done well out of the European market, which he said has been forgotten by the US administration.
Speaking to reporters on Friday in Dublin, he said: “There is an issue there, without doubt. Within the US administration there is an antipathy that’s not disguised towards the European Union.
“Misplaced, in my view, because if you take the European Union as a bloc, the trading relationship between it and the US is the biggest in the world. It has helped raise prosperity.
“Many of the big US pharma and technology companies have done well out of the European market. I mean, that seems to be forgotten by the US administration, and has done very well.”
Mr Martin also said that Mr Trump’s criticism of an imbalance between the US and the EU only focused on the movement of goods and “ignored” the services industry.
“President Trump and the administration have very carefully just put services to one side,” he added.
“But services is the growth engine of modern economies, and the US enjoys a much, much better relationship on the services side with Europe, and indeed with Ireland, than it does on the goods side. But that gets ignored.”
Urging both the EU and US to resolve its dispute over tariffs, Mr Martin said it was important that the European bloc adopts a “strategic” approach to the issue of retaliatory tariffs on products imported from the US.
He said this was to avoid further tariff hikes by the US administration on certain sectors where Ireland has a strong presence in the US market, such as spirits.
“We’ve engaged in significant advocacy in respect of making sure that the response is strategic,” Mr Martin said outside Government Buildings in the Irish capital.
He said that Ireland and other EU countries do not want to invite “more damage”.
“But then the more broader picture, I mean, other countries have been hit very hard in terms of the automotive industry,” he added.
“Obviously the (European) Commission and the President of the Commission (Ursula von der Leyen) has a difficult task in balancing the competing interests and the priorities of different member states.
“But, more importantly, I think the European Union will be doing this, I surmise, on a phased basis. One, (will be) negotiation. The European Union didn’t want any tariffs.
“The European Union will engage with the United States administration to negotiate a sensible landing zone here and resolution of this, because currently this will do a lot of damage to the world economy, to the American economy, to tax on people, to tax on businesses, and overall, it will damage investment.”
He also highlighted the need to “re-pivot” Ireland’s economic strategy to put more focus on developing and supporting indigenous companies.
Mr Martin rejected the suggestion that Ireland has a “dependency” on tax take from US multinational companies operating Irish bases, but he acknowledged that the old world order based on a free trade model was changing and “protectionism is coming back”.
Irish deputy premier Simon Harris said that other trade opportunities with countries such as India and the ratification of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Trade Agreement will not make up for the impact of the tariff dispute.
Speaking after a meeting of the Government’s Trade Forum at Government Buildings on Friday, Mr Harris said that establishing a presence in a new market takes time.
The forum was convened following Mr Trump’s announcement on tariffs earlier this week.
Senior government ministers held a meeting with business groups on Friday to assess how Ireland can respond to the US tariffs.
Asked if these other trade deals would alleviate the hit on the Irish economy, Mr Harris said: “No, it wouldn’t – certainly not in the short term.
“Obviously, establishing a presence in new markets takes time, and negotiating agreements takes time.
“It’s a sensible thing to do – and perhaps over time it would – but the scale of the economic relationship between not just Ireland and the US, the US and the EU, is so huge that it can’t be dismissed.
“It can’t be dismissed by the US either, it doesn’t matter who the president is or what their political philosophy is.
“If you have a trading relationship in goods and services worth about 1.6 trillion euro a year between the EU and the US, that’s massive. And it’s the largest trading relationship that exists.”
Mr Harris also questioned how Mr Trump will “square the circle” of introducing tariffs after pledging to reduce the cost of living during his election campaign.
Asked how much pain he expected US taxpayers to tolerate before the administration changes tack, Mr Harris said: “The jury is out in relation to that question, as to what point is the tipping point in terms of American political opinion and public opinion?
“But what is certainly playing out already is the fact that if you start putting tariffs on lots of things, that pushes up consumer goods and when you run in an election and you promise people you’re going to reduce the cost of living, I’m not sure how you square that circle.
“That’s for President Trump and his administration to work through.
“But we’ve seen estimates that there’s going to be thousands of euro in additional costs put on the average American household as a result of that. So far, we’ve heard President Trump say this is kind of temporary pain for longer-term gain. We don’t believe that to be the case.
“I’ve yet to hear economic advice or opinion that vindicates that, but we watch that.
“But certainly I think, it does give further weight to the EU strategy and the Irish strategy of step by step, measured, calm approach to this, because there’s so much happening at such pace, and how all that plays out is a very fluid situation.”
Earlier on Friday, Ireland’s Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers said “excessive” retaliatory measures to US tariffs are a concern.
He said that if the US is not willing to come to the negotiating table, that countermeasures will be brought in by the EU.
“We have reflected our own position in the context of countermeasures and Europe is engaging with all countries and building a collective response. I think the calm, measured strategic response from President Von Der Leyen is welcome,” Mr Chambers added.
“We want to move this to a space in negotiation.
“Excessive additional retaliatory measures that make this worse are a concern for Ireland.
“But we know if the US isn’t willing to come to the table and they aren’t willing to negotiate that some countermeasures are going to be required from the European Union.
“But we are reflecting our position as are many other countries.”
