A Clare academic believes it would be “mutual assured destruction” for the US to impose tariffs on Irish goods coming into the country.
President-elect Donald Trump’s latest Cabinet nomination is leading to further speculation around the potential for a transatlantic trade shock, which could have negative consequences for Ireland.
The soon-to-be 47th President of the United States of America has been nothing if not consistent in how he’s managed to raised eyebrows with each successive name he’s put forward for his White House Team.
Trump’s picks so far include anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr as Health Secretary, TV doctor Mehmet Oz as Administrator for Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services and WWE founder Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education.
Most recently, Trump has chosen businessman Howard Lutnick as Presumptive nominee for the role of Secretary of Commerce, a man who’s previously said it’s “nonsense that Ireland of all places runs a trade surplus” at the expense of the US.
To protect US goods, Trump and Lutnick have backed placing a 10% tariff on imports from nations like Ireland.
Newmarket-on-Fergus native and Professor of Politics at DCU, Donnacha Ó Beacháín, says this would only lead to retaliation from the Irish Government, which wouldn’t benefit anyone.
Pundits have spoken at length in recent weeks of the risks posed to Ireland’s status as a corporate tax haven by a second Trump administration.
Ireland’s 15% rate of corporation tax has long been a draw for multinationals which employ over 300,000 people here and have contributed €23 billion in corporation tax receipts so far this year.
Throughout Trump’s campaign, the pledge of “taking other countries’ jobs” was heard, with the Doonbeg hotelier proposing to attract US companies back home by slashing the corporation tax rate and offering incentives to firms which create more jobs.
Ennis Economist and Assistant Professor of Social Policy at UCD, Dr Micheál Collins says while companies mightn’t physically move out of Ireland, they could carry out financial maneuvers whereby their tax receipts will go to the US rather than the Irish Government.
He insists Ireland should’ve seen this coming and believes those in Government have taken their eye of the ball in this respect.
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