Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has cautioned that the European Union needs “to be careful about what we put on the table” during tariff negotiations with the United States.
Speaking on a program, Chambers emphasized that lowering tariffs between nations has been fundamental to decades of economic prosperity. “We want to preserve the extent of the interdependence that exists between Ireland and the US,” he stated.
The Minister’s remarks follow US President Donald Trump’s decision on Wednesday to pause tariffs on dozens of countriesโincluding Irelandโfor 90 days, allowing time for officials to negotiate with countries seeking reductions. Despite this temporary reprieve, a 10% blanket duty on almost all imports remains in effect.
In contrast, the tariffs on Chinese goods were not paused but instead increased dramatically to 145%.
Chambers acknowledged the unpredictability of future tariff developments, particularly regarding pharmaceuticals, but expressed hope that no additional tariffs would target the pharma sector. He warned that “we are at a point of enormous damage not just to the Irish economy but to the EU economy” if tariffs are raised further.
Meanwhile, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick revealed that smartphones, computers, and certain other electronics will face separate tariffs, along with semiconductors that may be imposed within approximately a month.
“We can’t be relying on China for fundamental things that we need: our medicines and our semiconductors need to be built in America,” Lutnick told ABC News.
On Friday, the Trump administration granted exclusions from steep tariffs on such products imported largely from China, providing significant relief to technology companies like Apple that depend on imported components.
China responded by stating it was evaluating the impact of these exclusions. In an official statement, the Ministry of Commerce described the move as a “small step by US to correct its wrong practice of unilateral ‘reciprocal tariffs’.”
“The bell on a tiger’s neck can only be untied by the person who tied it,” the ministry added, urging the United States to take more substantial action by completely canceling what China characterized as wrongful tariffs.
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