“Any economic impact of tariffs is bad for Ireland, it’s bad for Europe, but it’s also bad for global trade”, Paschal Donohoe has warned.
Donald Trump is threatening to impose wide ranging tariffs against the European Union on 2 April.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin says the EU will “comprehensively respond” if he does so.
Trump has already imposed 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminium. The European Commission has now delayed its response to those tariffs until mid-April.
The EU hope that will open a window to negotiate a de-escalation with the Americans.
An EU source called it “additional time for discussions”
“The change represents a slight adjustment to the timeline and does not diminish the impact of our response, in particular as the EU continues to prepare for retaliation of up to €26 billion”, the EU official added.
A trade war with the US would hit the European economy as well as the US.
The President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde warned that if there was a tit for tat, it could knock 0.5 percent off the Eurozone’s GDP.
“Any impact is going to be bad. It will be bad for jobs, it would be bad for growth, and it could be bad for inflation”, said Paschal Donohoe who is both Ireland’s Finance Minister and President of the Euro Group.
“There’s little doubt at all that moving into a phase in which tariffs are applied across the world, will be harmful and will be difficult for economic growth”, he warned.
Normally upbeat, even when EU economic data looks challenging, ppp was stark about the time ahead.
“I think what will be very corrosive to growing jobs and growing living standards in the time ahead will be just a general decline in certainty regarding how we trade each other.
“…But I am convinced, as ever, that the best way of Ireland approaching all of those challenges is through the European Union.”