EU-US deal avoids damaging trade war, says Taoiseach

By Gráinne Ní Aodha and Rebecca Black, PA

The Taoiseach has welcomed a new trade agreement between the US and EU as having “avoided a damaging trade war”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin also said there is “much to be negotiated” following what he termed a “framework agreement”.

Speaking to the media in Dublin on Monday, Mr Martin said it “opens up the prospect of more significant strategic collaboration between the US and Europe on quite a number of issues”.

“It also avoids further escalation, or indeed a trade conflict, which would be very, very damaging to the economies of the United States and of the European Union,” he said.

“It’s important to say that Europe never sought tariffs, or never sought to impose tariffs, and fundamentally, we are against tariffs: we believe in an open trading economy.”

Mr Martin said it is a very different situation than before April 1st.

“New realities are in play and so at a broader level, the stability and predictability that this agreement brings is important for businesses, is important for consumers and indeed patients when it comes to the manufacturing and distribution of medicines,” he said.

“In essence, we have avoided a trade conflict here which would have been ruinous, which would have been very damaging to our economy, and to jobs in particular.

“The challenge now for Europe is to work on its own inefficiencies, to reduce barriers within the single market, to press ahead more ambitiously and more proactively on trade diversification and trade deals with other countries that would facilitate that market diversification that is required.

“Meanwhile, there is much to be negotiated in the aftermath of this framework agreement.”

Asked about mixed reactions to the deal in Europe, Mr Martin said: “Nobody is welcoming tariffs with open arms.

“I think we’ve been consistent in saying that we don’t agree with tariffs, that we prefer if there weren’t tariffs, but we have to deal with realities.

“I understand people criticising, but given the balance and the options here… in my view, I would appreciate the work of the (European) Commission in this regard, and the avoidance of a trade war is preferable, in my view, and that’s the key issue.”