Sharon Keogan warns of tariffs and calls for Irish economic sovereignty
Sharon Keogan warned that tariffs, a looming trade war and US-EU decoupling are the most important issues for the national economic outlook. She urged Ireland to stop assuming a return to 1990s free-trade norms, act with agency, invest in targeted technology education and assert economic sovereignty.
Main warnings on tariffs and decoupling
She argued that tariffs, protectionism and the decoupling between the US and the EU now dominate the geopolitical and economic landscape. Keogan traced the US-China strategic competition to a pivot begun 13 years ago and said trade tensions have persisted through successive US administrations, noting recent EU concerns over US state aid in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Criticism of Ireland's diplomatic posture
Keogan criticised what she called a submissive approach to Brussels and the Commission. She cited the Mercantile example, arguing Ireland failed to signal opposition to a deal that could flood domestic markets with beef from countries with lower environmental and labour standards because of fear of offending the Commission.
Calls for technology, skills and strategic investment
She urged investment in targeted education and smarter funding focused on artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing rather than simply increasing numbers of degrees. Keogan also highlighted Taiwan's leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and criticised a reluctance to explore cooperation for fear of upsetting Beijing.
Opportunities and a warning for Ireland
Keogan said Ireland is uniquely positioned to act as a middleman between major trading blocs and could benefit from shifting global supply chains, but only if it stops acting like a passive passenger. She concluded that Europe and the US are adjusting to protectionism and decoupling, and that Ireland must be clear, strategic and sovereign or risk being left behind.
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The most important issue facing our national economic outlook is the tariffs, the looming trade war and the decoupling between the US and the EU. However, first let us stand aside for the moment from the specific governments, leaders and politicians shaping the relationship between the EU and the US. Let us stand aside from partisan considerations of their ideologies, their histories and even their personalities. Regardless of who is in power, certain considerations remain the same. In many nations, through elections sweep old parties out of power and new ones in. The fundamental geopolitical and economic interests of those nations remain unchanged. In geopolitics, for example, the current US competition with China for power and influence did not begin with Trump. It began 13 years ago under Barack Obama's administration with his pivot to East Asia. Through the different administrations, though they confronted the issue with varying levels of intensity, this same policy has continued under both Trump and Biden. It is the same with economics. When Trump first announced his policy of a trade war with China, he was met with disbelief and laughter. Within the decade, we now have the EU talking about the need to decouple from the Chinese market. When Trump announced his initial intention to have a trade war with Europe, it was met with exasperation and disbelief. The thinking was that there were mad decisions of a madman. Yet only three years ago, while the US was under the Biden administration, which was supposed to signal a return to the norm, the EU once again found itself facing a potential trade war in response to Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which would have advantaged US companies with US state aid. The act, by the way, is still enforced. As this is to say, all before we began to seriously deal with the threats of our economy from the growing wave of protectionism, we have to throw out this deeply unserious mindset that prevails among too many in this House, in the civil service and in government. A childish mindset that assumes that tariffs and protectionism are just a bad dream and that soon enough we will all wake up, that we will go back to the promises that were given in the 90s of the global free trade and world peace, and that we will all live happily ever after. Many in the EU are already embracing the mindset. The long-term economic interests of the US to onshore their industry and keep as much manufacturing domestic as possible will not change. In this situation, Europe can only be competition, and Europe is adjusting accordingly. Ireland can even stand to benefit from the coming circumstances, but we must first see the reality for what it is. Members of the House, if we are to navigate this new economic reality, we must stop acting like passengers and start acting like a nation with agency. Ireland is uniquely positioned to become a middleman between the great trading blocs, but to do that we must stop approaching Brussels on bended knees. Take Mercantile, for example. We could not even bring ourselves to signal opposition to a deal that would flood our markets with beef from countries with lower environmental and labour standards. Why? Because we are afraid of offending the Commission. That is not diplomacy. That is submission. We must also stop letting fear dictate our foreign policy. Taiwan is a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing, chips that power everything and which our island is uniquely placed to manufacture, yet we will not even hear them out or consider cooperation for fear of upsetting Beijing. That is not neutrality. That is cowardness. If we want to be a serious player in the global economy, we must also invest in our people. That means real, targeted education in the technologies that will define the next century. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing. Not just more degrees, but the right ones. Not just more funding, but smarter funding. We need to stop pretending that the world is going back to the way it was. It is not. The EU is adjusting, the US is adjusting and if we do not adjust, we will be left behind. Let us be clear, let us be strategic and above all, let us be sovereign.
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