EU engaging ‘sensibly’ with US administration following tariff threat – Martin

By Cate McCurry, PA

The European Union has been engaging “sensibly” with the US administration over its threatened tariffs on all EU imports, the Taoiseach has said, as he welcomed a decision to pause the move until July.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he believes the US is anxious to reach a deal on trade with the EU, and that Donald Trump’s administration has issues it wants resolved through the negotiations.

It comes as Mr Trump said he will pause his threatened 50 per cent tariffs on the EU until July 9, following a “very nice call” with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

In April, Mr Trump announced a 20 per cent tariff on EU goods being sold into the US. He later reduced that to 10 per cent until July 9th to allow for time for talks with Brussels on a potential agreement.

On Friday, Mr Trump claimed the talks were “going nowhere” and said he was recommending that the 50 per cent tariff rate comes into effect on June 1st.

He rowed back on the decision on Monday, claiming that Ms Von der Leyen called him asking for extension to the date.

Mr Martin, who attended the Global Economic Summit in Killarney, Co Kerry, on Monday, welcomed the move.

“I do believe that the European Union has been engaging sensibly on this. I do believe the US side is anxious to get a deal on this that’s sustainable too,” he said.

“They have issues, the US have issues that they want resolved through this negotiation.

“But all of the indications in terms of the interaction between Maros (Sefcovic) and his counterparts is that they wanted a deal here.

“Europe has responded, so far, in a fairly modest and sensible way.

“We need to stay focused on those sectors that Ireland is doing well in, and I’ve been in fairly regular contact now over the last four months with leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, medtech and the technology industry.

“I spoke to a lot of CEOs, getting their perspective on what’s happening in the US, and also their own sense of how it affects their companies and their facilities.

“Suffice to say that I think everybody so far appreciates the European Union’s approach in terms of not overreacting to various announcements and to various decisions, but rather to focus on a negotiating resolution to this.

“I welcome the conversation that President Trump has had with President Von der Leyen, and that we’re back to the original timetable of July for what Europe and the US to negotiate a deal.

“But tariffs are not good for our economy. They’re not good for the world economy. They’re not good for consumers.

“It’s absolutely important that we can get a realistic and reasonable deal between Europe and the United States to help consumers, to help citizens across the world.”

Mr Martin said there is a lot of “wait and see” among businesses and investors, saying that many are uncertain about the future.

He said that uncertainty changes the public’s spending behaviour, which has an impact on the domestic economy.

In a statement, Tánaiste Simon Harris said: “I want to welcome confirmation from President Trump that the threatened higher tariffs are paused until July 9th.

“This follows contact between President Von der Leyen and the US President who spoke yesterday, as well as the discussions on Friday between Commissioner Sefcovic and his US counterparts.

“These contacts at the highest political level present the opportunity for negotiations to move forward. This is our priority. We want to see meaningful and substantive talks.

“The EU-US economic relationship is an engine of growth for the entire world.

“There is no doubt that the circumstances are challenging at present but I am confident that we can find a way forward.

“Ireland will continue to contribute actively and positively to these efforts. I remain in close and ongoing contact with Commissioner Sefcovic and with our EU partners and, of course, we will continue our outreach to the US.

“We have much work to do and no time to waste to find a deal that that is good for both economies and protects jobs and investment.”