Former Trump advisor 'admires' Ireland's corporate tax rate and is sceptical of tariffs
Vivienne Clarke
Stephen Moore, a former senior economic advisor to US president Donald Trump, has said he admires Ireland’s corporate tax regime and that the US might be wiser in reducing its tax rate to similar levels.
Mr Trump is hoping a 25 per cent tariff on foreign goods arriving into the US will lead to a manufacturing boom.
The White House said the charges will be applied from Wednesday, to any country which has "treated the US unfairly."
Mr Moore told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that he would prefer to see the US reduce the tax rates on corporate profits rather than raise tariffs on imported goods.
"Ireland has the lowest corporate tax rate in virtually the world. We've always pointed to Ireland as really the model for what the United States should do. Better than raising our tariffs would be for the United States to bring our corporate rate down to 15 per cent, which would get closer to where Ireland is."
Mr Moore said he was fearful that Mr Trump's tariff plan would cost US jobs. "One of the ironies is that we are trying to protect our manufacturing base in the United States and our hard-working Americans who work the blue-collar jobs.
"But I do worry that the aluminium and steel tariffs and the other tariffs could actually cost US jobs in those industries because they're going to make these products more expensive. It's all in a bit of flux, right now."
Mr Trump and his commerce secretary Howard Lutnick have both suggested US pharmaceutical multinationals located in Ireland will be targeted in what is expected to be a major tariff announcement on Wednesday.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said expected US tariffs on pharmaceutical exports will damage the economic prospects of US companies in Ireland.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said that if tariffs are imposed, it could mean 50,000 to 80,000 jobs will not be created or kept in Ireland in the next four to five years.
He also warned that a global trade dispute could put jobs at risk, impact living standards and economic growth.
Professor John McHale, head of economics at the University of Galway, told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that "the EU would be wise to take a measured approach to the retaliation.
"The reason that you would have retaliation is to try to deter the policies of the Trump administration, but I do not think that Trump will be easily deterred and he'll probably double down if there's retaliation, so while there's a lot of political pressure to retaliate, I think a measured approaches is appropriate."
Prof McHale said the Irish economy was “definitely going to come under significant stress. The success of the Irish economy has very much been based on integration into the US economy, particularly with the presence of US multinationals here.
"The incentive to base here and to route a lot of their revenues and tax payments through the Irish economy, that is definitely going to come under stress."
