The Tánaiste, Simon Harris, is expected to inform the cabinet of the need to seek exclusions from such start off for key sectors, including scope for zero-for-zero arrangements for key sectors, as well as clarity on the outcome of the Sector 232 investigations, including on pharmaceuticals, semi-conductors and aviation.
Talks between the EU and US are due to conclude before next Wednesday, July 9, at which point the US president Donald Trump, had threatened tariffs of 50pc will be imposed if agreement is not reached.
US president Donald Trump. Photo: AP
Mr Harris is expected to tell Cabinet today that there is “positive momentum” in the talks, but that 10pc baseline tariffs in some sectors will pose challenges.
He will tell colleagues of a growing belief at an EU level that agreement can be reached within the narrow timeframe on an outline deal.
This, he will say, will require further negotiation and discussion both between EU-US, and within the EU-27.
Despite the challenges posed by the imposition of any tariffs, the Tánaiste will reiterate that Ireland’s focus throughout this period has been working constructively to protect Irish jobs and investment and shield Irish businesses and consumers from the worst impacts.
The Tánaiste will update on his recent call with US Trade Representative, ambassador Jamieson Greer on 12 June, where he raised sectoral tariffs on pharmaceuticals and underlined the interconnected nature of the sector on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the call, he also expressed the Government’s “desire to have a negotiated outcome that results in a zero for zero arrangement in as many sectors as possible leading to a mutually beneficial outcome.”
The Tánaiste will chair a meeting of the Government Trade Forum tomorrow and will travel to Berlin on Friday to meet with his German counterpart. EU-US trade relations are expected to feature high on the agenda in both of these meetings.
There is nobody standing here today that can predict what will happen next week
In a speech to be delivered later today at an event marking exactly one year until Ireland takes up the EU presidency in the second half of 2026, the Tánaiste will say that the ongoing trade talks “will fundamentally alter the Union’s relationship with the United States”.
He is due to say: “We remain hopeful of a deal but whatever the outcome, it is clear tariffs will remain a feature of the geopolitical trading arrangements.
“Europe has stood tall together and this has been essential in ensuring we get the best possible outcome. But there is nobody standing here today that can predict what will happen next week with certainty.”