Taoiseach rounds out US trip with meetings about data centres and AI

Kenneth Fox

Micheál Martin will finish up his visit to Washington DC on Friday with further meetings in the US capital.

The curtain comes down on his week long trip to the US, with other ministers set to come out over the coming days.

On the agenda on Friday for the Taoiseach is a visit to Hanley Energy - a company that works with data centres to provide solutions for their massive power requirements.

Micheál Martin has stressed the importance of Ireland's involvement in the future of AI multiple times this week and may be looking for ways Ireland can have more data centres without compromising the power grid.

He is also due to meet with members of the Jewish community in DC, but a number of those due to attend have pulled out as the Israeli ambassador labelled Micheál Martin an anti-semite.

That will wrap off a busy week of engagements - but one the Government feels has gone as well as it could have.

US leaders were more than welcoming of the Irish and Trump had positive words for Micheál Martin in the Oval Office.

It is piercingly clear though that a good relationship is not going to stop Trump from imposing tariffs on Ireland and the EU.

While Ireland may have an ear in Washington - a damaging trade war now looms over the Atlantic.

It comes as Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would put a 200 per cent tariff on all wines and other alcoholic products coming out of the European Union if the bloc did not remove its tariff on whiskey.

The European Commission said on Wednesday that it will impose counter tariffs on €26 billion worth of US goods from next month, ramping up a global trade war in response to blanket US tariffs on steel and aluminum.

The EU executive said, however, that it remained open to negotiations and considered higher tariffs in no one's interest.

Trump raised the ante in a social media post on Thursday.

"The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States, has just put a nasty 50 per cent Tariff on Whisky."