One-off payments for businesses ‘not sustainable’ response to tariffs – minister

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

One-off payments for businesses are “not sustainable” as a response to 15 per cent tariffs imposed by the US, the enterprise minister has said.

The Irish government has welcomed the certainty of a trade deal between the EU and the US but said more detail is required to assess the impact on the Irish economy.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said nobody was welcoming 15 per cent tariffs “with open arms” but the deal avoided a “ruinous” trade war.

Speaking before briefing Cabinet on the trade agreement struck by US President Donald Trump and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at the weekend, Peter Burke said Brexit-style supports were not the answer.

“This is a new environment. It is a new trading world. There are huge tensions now on the geopolitical landscape, and that looks like it’s going to remain into the future,” he said.

“So we have to try and navigate those sustainably and the answer is not really setting up a Brexit-type response right now, it is working specifically with companies, trying to assist them, like we have been, in a sustainable way.

“One-off payments are not sustainable and I think we have to be honest about that. What is sustainable is that if you make your production process more efficient that allows you retain that high-value market despite the tariff rate with the US economy.

“I think one of the key things we’re looking to establish is that there’s no stacking in tariffs, and that could be a significant win, if it’s fleshed out correctly as we think it is, that you won’t have a 15% on top of previous tariffs, particularly in our agrifoods and drinks sector. It will be important to see what the carve-outs are in that sector.”