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Simon Harris speaking to Bloomberg in the US today. Bloomberg screengrab
trade-war threats
Harris speaks to US media about tariff threats after meeting JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs in NY
The Tánaiste rules out another cost-of-living package despite threats of rising costs to consumers.
BIG BUSINESSES SUCH as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, BNY and Bank of Ireland have met with Tánaiste Simon Harris today as he rounds off his final day in the US.
The big message on Harris’ St Patrick’s Day trip has been around trade, with the Tánaiste stating that he wants to be honest with the public that things are likely to be “tumultuous” before an agreement, if any, is made between the EU and US on tariffs.
In New York today, back-to-back meetings were held with major industry players, with the Tánaiste telling The Journal that he hoped to gain “insights” from the companies that he can take back home.
Tomorrow, the Tánaiste will bring a memo to Cabinet updating his ministerial colleagues about what business and trade policy information he has gleaned from the US trip.
The message repeated, at nauseum at times this week, is that it is a two-way relationship that exists economically between the EU, Ireland and the United States.
There is hope that this message will sink in with big US business here, businesses that are very important players in the Irish economy when it comes to jobs.
Speaking ahead of his meetings with the big financiers, Harris said he wants to “get their insights to where they see the lay of the land”.
Harris nodded to the fact that under the Donald Trump administration, things can change rapidly, on a daily, and sometimes on an hourly basis.
Any insights he gets in New York will be brought back to the government’s new trade forum which meets on Friday. Harris will chair the group which is made up of departments, agencies and business groups.
He said the meeting will be a chance to “really take stock of where we’re at”.
“But I’ve got to be very honest with the Irish people. My view remains the same and remains consistent. I believe we are entering a turbulent period of time.
“As I keep on saying, and Europe keeps on saying, and all my counterparts keep on saying, every disagreement ends with agreement. There needs to be an intense engagement to find a way forward here, because trade is good for Ireland, good for Europe, and it’s good for the United States of America,” he said.
“As of today, my sense is that we’re likely to see the turbulence before the agreement. I think that would be regrettable. I think it’d be much better use of everybody’s time and energy to intensively engage,” he added.
The European Union, which has responsibilities and trade policy, stands ready to intensively engage with the US, he added.
In a bid to spread his message on trade, Harris also spoke to media interviews with Bloomberg and CNN on the issues.
He said talks should take place before the April deadline which has been mooted, stating that that there is time before then for talks and engagement to take place.
https://x.com/BloombergTV/status/1902032077333135390
Businesses unhappy with pace of engagement
However, The Journal understands that business groups are deeply unhappy with the narrative circulating that things are likely to get worse before they get better, stating that pressure is likely to be put on government at Friday’s meeting to push the EU into talks and to consider re-opening the US tariff list agreed some years ago.
But what does turbulent times mean for the everyday Joe? What about threats to jobs?
The chairman of the IDA Chairman Fergal O’Rourke told the Irish Independent this week that he doesn’t foresee any immediate job losses.
When asked if he is jittery about possible job losses in the trade-war fallout, Harris said American companies know that to get access to the European Union, which is a massive market, they need to have a base in Europe.
“And Ireland offers a very good home to so many companies, companies that have done very well and that have made a lot of profit and absolutely have created a lot of jobs. So we don’t ever take investment for granted. We continue to work with companies, engage with companies,” he said.
Harris said the government will “control” what’s within their control, by investing in Ireland’s infrastructure and competitiveness.
“I think Ireland approaches this period of turbulence from a position of relevant strength,” said the Tánaiste.
Aside from big business concerns and jobs, any imposition of trade tariffs will increase costs for the consumer on both sides of the Atlantic.
No cost-of-living packages despite rising price threats
The government has ruled out a return to a further cost-of-living package, with Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers confirming in recent weeks that there will be no more energy credits bestowed on customers, despite warnings that energy costs are set to rise again this year.
Asked about whether a looming trade war might make the government reconsider such a plan, Harris said this government and the last government have a strong track record in terms of putting support packages in place. However, he added:
“We do have to be honest with people now that we do need to try and move to a more regular budgetary cycle. Inflation is falling, but that is not to say that we won’t be trying to assist people in the budget with the cost-of-living, but how we do it has be part of the regular budgetary cycle,” said Harris.
“We are going to get through this, our economy is in good stead. We have been setting billions [of Euros] into future funds and we used to get asked ‘why are doing that, why don’t you spend all the money now’. This is one of the reasons. You prepare a buffer for your economy from any shocks,” the Tánaiste said.
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