Northern Ireland businesses “anxious” about Donald Trump tariffs

Businesses in Northern Ireland are “anxious” about the impact that US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements will have, First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly added that it is important for any retaliatory EU tariffs on the US not to penalise Northern Ireland, while Ireland’s deputy premier Simon Harris said there is a need to examine the implications of a tariffs differential on the island.

Mr Trump implemented a 10% tariff on the UK, which he said was the baseline rate for all countries, effective from April 5. Northern Irish goods will be covered by the UK rate. He also announced a 20% tariff on the European Union as part of a slate of international measures on what he deemed “liberation day”.

If the EU announces retaliatory measures, it could have an impact on goods coming into Northern Ireland from the US as it still follows EU trading rules due to the post-Brexit Windsor Framework. The implications of the US announcement were discussed by Stormont ministers at an Executive meeting on Thursday.

Ms O’Neill said: “There is no doubt that the US market is an important market for us all, particularly across this island and these islands. What has been announced yesterday is concerning, it creates instability, it is very much a race to the bottom.

“It doesn’t serve anybody’s interests and I think it creates a period of uncertainty and instability in terms of the economy here. It is still an unfolding situation. In terms of the detail on what next, it remains to be seen.”

The First Minister added: “It is very important we continue to be engaged both at a government level, with the Irish Government, with the British Government, with the EU level. But also with our local business community here who are anxious about what this means for them.

“We want to have a scenario where our bottom line is the protection of jobs, the growth of the economy. It is about ensuring we provide that certainty where we can.”

Ms Little-Pengelly said her focus was on protecting local businesses from being impacted by an escalation in tariff disputes.

She said: “This means pushing for all possible actions to protect Northern Ireland, especially against any retaliatory tariffs by the EU. I have been vociferously raising our Northern Ireland issues to all involved, both locally and in the US, in the last number of weeks in Washington DC.”

She added: “My focus is on what is best for Northern Ireland. I believe that this means now working to push forward on that UK-USA arrangement, supporting the United Kingdom Government and ensuring that Northern Ireland is central to all of those considerations.”

She said it was important that any EU tariffs on the US did not penalise Northern Ireland businesses. Tanaiste Mr Harris said he would be in regular contact with Stormont’s leaders on the consequences of most Northern Ireland exports to the US being subject to a 10% tariff while most goods exported from the Republic of Ireland to the US will have a 20% tariff.

Mr Harris said this would create “huge complexities” for products with a cross-border dimension to their production. He said the issues were similar to those from the Brexit debate around maintaining a frictionless land border on the island of Ireland.

“This does seem like a bit of a throwback to conversations we had in the past, where you have two different realities on the island of Ireland,” Mr Harris told RTE Radio One.

“At the moment, there’s a 10% tariff on UK goods and a 20% tariff on European goods, of which Ireland is a part. And therefore, there’s a 10% differential. Now, being very honest, there’s a lot of work going on in real time to tease through this.

“In terms of agri-food, for example, my understanding is that if it came to whiskey, you’d fill out the custom form before it goes to the US, so that’s quite clear.

“But if you look at things like dairy, there’s huge complexities. Stuff that goes out from the north could be listed as coming from the south. We’ve had all these conversations during Brexit, where something had started in the south, and goes to the north and back again.

“So we need to tease these things through and, being quite frank, it’s for the United States, who’ve decided to do this differential, to outline their understanding.”

Stormont’s Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said she had set out “five key asks” of the UK and Irish governments.

She said: “First, to keep the north’s unique circumstances in mind in trade negotiations and in terms of any counter-measures. Second, to act in concert, and to minimise divergence between Britain and the EU.

“Third, to provide a properly resourced advice service for businesses so that they can understand how tariffs affect them. Fourth, to improve existing trading initiatives such as HMRC’s duty reimbursement and waiver schemes. Finally, to bring forward an economic package that protects our international competitiveness.”

Ms Archibald added: “My department will closely monitor the impact of US tariffs and any counter-measures. On Monday morning I will meet with businesses and trade unions to assess the unfolding situation, and the next steps. Our task is to maintain the positive economic momentum that has built up over the last few years.”

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