If Wednesday was so-called Liberation Day in the United States, Thursday was tariff reaction day in Ireland and other parts of the European Union. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe warned of the possible hit to employment and tax revenues of an extended trade war at a briefing on first quarter exchequer returns, which at least showed a healthy rise in tax revenues for the State. Barry O’Halloran has the details.
In our long read on the implications of Donald Trump’s tariffs, Cliff Taylor offers sharp insight into how the US, the EU and the Irish economies will react.
Hugh Dooley, meanwhile, gathered reaction from a number of leading Irish food and drink exporters to the United States. Some see it as Brexit mark two, with others eyeing a pivot to different markets, and all of them still trying the process the full implications of Donald Trump’s moves.
Larry Fink heads BlackRock, the world’s biggest money manager. In an interview with Joe Brennan in Dublin, he said the US faces the risk of tipping into a brief recession in the coming months but added that Donald Trump’s policy of cutting government costs and red tape would boost growth over the longer term.
Tom Keogh makes the popular Keogh’s Crisps and the US accounts for 15 per cent of its volume. While tariffs are a threat to his Dublin business he is hopeful that the company can continue to offer its products at a competitive price while also pivoting towards other markets, including Canada. Hugh Dooley spoke to Tom Keogh.
Our Interview of the Week is with Microsoft president and vice chair Brad Smith, who says the tech giant wouldn’t be the success that it is today “if we hadn’t forged this partnership with Ireland” some 40 years ago. He spoke with Ciara O’Brien on a recent visit to Dublin.
In her weekly Work feature, Margaret E Ward explores whether conflict in the workplace can actually be good for innovation and results.
Is Ireland really suffering a tourism collapse? Recent data from the Central Statistics Office suggests it has fallen off the proverbial cliff so far this year but some industry figures have been scratching their heads at the results. Jim Deegan is professor of tourism policy, director of the National Centre For Tourism Policy Studies and a member of the Economics Department at University of Limerick and offers a view on how we compile our figures for an industry that is hugely important to the economy.
Almost 90 per cent of Irish businesses have suffered some form of financial loss and commercial disruption as a result of a cyberattack in the past five years, new research has found. Ciara O’Brien has the details.
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