Sharon Keogan: US tariffs an 'existential' threat to Ireland
Sharon Keogan warned that proposed US tariffs could inflict an existential risk on Ireland ahead of an anticipated announcement from Washington. She argued the country’s long-term overreliance on US foreign direct investment and poor political judgement have left the economy dangerously exposed.
Warning ahead of Washington announcement
Keogan spoke on the immediate threat of tariffs being imposed on Ireland by the United States ahead of a planned announcement from Washington. She said she hopes for the best but noted the Taoiseach had publicly described the potential effects as disastrous and questioned how the State could 'invite any more damage' short of a declaration of war.
Criticism of political leaders' conduct
She criticised senior political figures for their international engagements, saying the Taoiseach 'all but stopped short of giving an endorsement to Kamala Harris', the Tánaiste still displays a photo with a Kamala Harris campaign hat on social media, and the former Taoiseach hosted couples dinners with her and her husband. Keogan said it is wrong in principle to involve oneself in another country's politics and accused national leaders of 'horrendous statementship and diplomatic acumen'.
Dependence on US investment and economic vulnerability
Keogan blamed decades of policy choices for creating an existential risk, saying Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had allowed Ireland to fall into total dependence on US foreign direct investment over 30 years. She warned that domestic economic planning had been negligent and naive, and criticised the assumption that free trade would continue despite a global shift toward protectionism.
Tariff politics in the US and EU trade context
She challenged the minister's claim that 'nobody wants tariffs', arguing millions of Americans do want them and pointing to the recent political promise by President Trump to bring industry back with tariffs. Keogan also noted that the EU itself is founded on a customs union that imposes tariffs on non-members and warned that Ireland needs far more than a rainy day fund to shore up weak economic foundations against the looming threat.
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I would like to speak on the threats of tariffs being imposed on Ireland by the United States ahead of tomorrow's announcement from Washington. While I hope for the best, it must be serious if the Taoiseach is publicly claiming the effects could be disastrous. Taoiseach Martin said it is important that we do not invite more damage in our response. Well, I would like to know exactly how we could invite any more damage short of a declaration of war against the United States. Taoiseach Martin all but stopped short of giving an endorsement to Kamala Harris. Tawniste Simon Harris still has a photo on his Instagram of his Kamala Harris campaign hat, while former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was happy to have couples dinners with her and her husband. While it is wrong in principle to involve yourself in another country's politics, it is even worse to back the losing horse. Our political leaders have behaved with horrendous statementship and diplomatic acumen for years now. However, we must also realise that these tariffs pose an existential threat because of a long-running problem driven by negligence and naivety in our national economic planning. For over 30 years now, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have allowed us to fall into those total dependence on US foreign direct investment, ignoring a host of warnings that we needed to divest and invest in our own industries. It is as if our leadership believed that free trade would continue forever, despite the fact that the rest of the world has been trending towards protectionism for nearly a decade now. Minister Darragh Ileary claimed that nobody wants tariffs, but this is factually wrong. Millions of ordinary Americans want tariffs. They have watched their industries slowly drift out of their country over the past 50 years and last year they gave President Trump a popular majority because he promised to bring that industry back with tariffs. The government highlights that we will use US leverage to blunt the worst effects of the tariffs, but has anyone forgotten that the foundation of the EU is in the customs union? The EU is the EU because we impose tariffs on just about everyone who isn't in it. We need a lot more than a rainy day fund because what we now face is a torrent that threatens to wash away the poor foundations we have built our economy on.
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