TÁNAISTE AND TRADE minister Simon Harris has backed calls for the EU and US to reach a zero-tariff trade agreement, as the deadline quickly approaches.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 50% tariff on 9 July if the EU cannot secure a deal. Negotiations, at the time, had stalled, but European leaders say there has been a positive change and remain ongoing.

Posting to social media, Harris said the trade relationship between the EU and US is mutually beneficial and that negotiators should reach a zero-for-zero tariff deal – amid reports that a 10% US tariff will be set as a new baseline.

He said that he would convene the government’s trade group on Wednesday. It comes as enterprise minister Peter Burke told an Irish trade mission to Japan that he believes there are parameters for a deal, the Sunday Independent reports.

Burke said that negotiators are eager to reach a deal. Speaking in Brussels this week, Ireland’s European Commissioner Michael McGrath said he believes an “outline” of a deal can be achieved.

McGrath, a former finance minister, said that every commission is in some way involved in trade policy leaders’ Maroš Šefčovič’s work to reach a deal. Asked about reports of a flat 10% rate, he said the EU is “not conceding” that any tariff level is a new baseline.

Should a mutual agreement not be reached, the EU has said it will impose its countermeasures on the US on 14 July. 

There are serious concerns that the US’s response to the EU’s countermeasures could impact Ireland’s lucrative aviation, pharma, drinks and agri-food industries.