Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris has described US President Donald Trump’s threat of 30% tariffs on imports from the EU as a “negotiating tactic”.
Speaking at the National Day of Commemoration in Dublin, Mr Harris said that “the letter yesterday from President Trump was unhelpful, because it’s escalatory, but I think it also doesn’t change anything in the here and now”.
He said the deadline was always 1 August and “remains the first of August and looks to me like a negotiating tactic by Donald Trump”.
“We prefer to do our negotiations around the table. He tends to do his negotiations on Truth Social and he can do it however he wishes, [but] from a European perspective and an Irish perspective, we’re continuing to intensively engage. I was in contact overnight with the EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič speaking to him on a very regular basis,” Mr Harris said.
When asked if he believed President Trump would go ahead with the tariffs, Mr Harris said: “I think anybody who speaks of great certainty today ends up looking foolish a couple of days later. But my sense of this is that President Trump recognises the need for a deal.
“Why do I say that? Well remember it was 50% tariffs he was starting last Wednesday, and then he actually provided a longer period of time to get to a negotiation. So part of this is, I think, is his way of negotiating a negotiation tactic, if you like, on behalf of the United States.”
EU prefers negotiated solution with US – von der Leyen
The European Union prefers a negotiated solution on trade with the United States, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said, adding that the bloc would extend its suspension of countermeasures to US tariffs until early August.
“The (anti-coercion) instrument is created for extraordinary situations, we are not there yet,” Ms von der Leyen said, a reference to a tool that allows the EU to go beyond traditional tariffs on goods and impose restrictions on trade in services too.
The EU’s current suspension of its retaliation over US steel and aluminium tariffs had been set to expire overnight tomorrow.
Ms von der Leyen also announced a “political agreement” with Indonesia to conclude a free trade deal, as she met President Prabowo Subianto in Brussels.
“We’re living in turbulent times and when economic uncertainty meets geopolitical volatility, partners like us must come closer together. So today we’re taking a big step forward in this partnership,” Ms von der Leyen told journalists.
Meanwhile, German’s finance minister has said that the European Union will need to take “decisive” action to counter US tariffs if no “fair” deal is reached with Washington to avert threatened levies.
Lars Klingbeil told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that “serious and solution-oriented negotiations” with the US were still necessary, but added that if they fail, the EU would need “decisive counter-measures to protect jobs and businesses in Europe”.
Read more: Next fortnight crucial for Ireland amid US tariff threats
Mr Klingbeil said the tariffs would have “only losers” and “threaten the American economy at least as much as businesses in Europe”.
He said that “Europe remains determined and united: we want a fair deal.”
“Our hand remains outstretched but we won’t accept just anything,” Mr Klingbeil said, and added that contingency measures in the case of no deal “must continue to be prepared”.
Meanwhile, Minister for Climate, Environment, Energy and Transport Darragh O’Brien said there is “still time in this space” to negotiate a deal, adding “”we don’t want to catastrophise the situation”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week, he said: “The uncertainty that the last number of months have created across the European Union and indeed the United States is not good for the economy and particularly in business.”
“Tariffs are good for no one, and obviously the trading situation that we have right now, prior to these to the new administration has been advantageous for both,” he added.
The minister said the Irish economy and people are “very resilient post-Brexit”.
“I believe we will manage our way through this,” he added.
