EU and US must work ‘intensively’ to get tariff deal before deadline

Ireland’s foreign affairs minister said the EU and the US must work “intensively” to get a deal on tariffs in place before the deadline for increased rates, but added he has concerns for the pharma industry.

The Trump administration said it has pushed back a deadline for tariffs to come into place to August 1.

The White House confirmed that US president Donald Trump would be delaying an increase to the baseline 10% tariff rate to next month.

Countries had been working to a Wednesday deadline to make a new deal with the Trump administration.

Irish deputy premier Simon Harris said the pause is a “clear indication” that President Trump understands the need to have a trade deal in place.

“We are far too interdependent not to have one. Every single day, more than four billion euro worth of goods and services are traded across the Atlantic Ocean,” Mr Harris said on Tuesday.

“We need to work now intensively to get an agreement ideally in advance of August 1, because we’ve been consistent in Ireland.

“The more quickly we can bring certainty, the better that is for jobs, and the better that is for investment, the better that is for economic sentiment.

“I do want to flag I am concerned in relation to the issue of pharma. I think there’s a lot of work to be done here in relation to pharma. We obviously have a very big pharma sector in this country.

“We’ve been a very good home to the pharma industry. They need access to the European Union, a market of more than 460 million people.

“In my conversations with the Trump administration, with Secretary (Howard) Lutnick, I’ve made this point that there is a way forward that could be good for the EU and good for the US and pharma.”

Mr Harris said that while it is “disappointing” no trade agreement has been reached, the decision by President Trump shows he is up for making a deal.

He said he wants to see zero-for-zero tariffs in as many areas as possible.

He added: “In all my conversations with European counterparts and my conversations with the US administration, I know there are very, very intense talks under way to get to a point of agreement.

“We need to get as many carve outs, I think, in terms of zero for zero in as many areas as possible, and particularly from an Irish perspective, but also from an European economic perspective, we need to see a lot more engagement and clarity around pharma.”

Irish premier Micheal Martin said he is “hopeful” the EU and the US will reach a landing zone before the deadline passes.

Speaking outside Government Buildings in Dublin, Mr Martin said: “First of all, we don’t want tariffs, but the United States clearly have issues.

“I welcome the fact that there’s a pause in respect of the European Union, and clearly the European Union, as I suggested when I spoke to President (Ursula) von der Leyen, the European Union is on track for a framework agreement with the United States.

“Others are not, apparently. Others would have received letters, I think, imposing 25% tariffs. I would hope that we can get a landing zone between the United States and the European Union, because the trade between the two is enormous, and any failure to get a headline agreement would have, I think, a disruptive impact on the markets and on the manufacturers of goods in particular.

“What it suggests really is that there was substantial negotiations on the way, have happened between the US and the EU. They’re not there yet, and we’re not there yet, but I think there’s a prospect that we could be there by August 1.”