Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on the EU during a meeting with Irish premier Micheal Martin in the Oval Office.
The US president said he did not want “to do anything to hurt Ireland” but added that the trade relationship between the countries should be focused on “fairness”.
It comes after the president imposed 25% tariffs on global steel and aluminium imports to the US – prompting Canada to announce retaliatory tariffs on US goods worth $29.8bn (£16bn) from tomorrow and the EU to impose counter tariffs on €26bn (£22bn) of US goods from 1 April.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer said he was “disappointed” to see the president impose global tariffs on steel and aluminium and promised to “keep all options on the table” in how the UK would respond.
During Mr Trump’s meeting with Mr Martin, the president raised the “massive” trade imbalance between the two countries and said Ireland was “of course” taking advantage of the US.
He said the EU was “set up in order to take advantage of the United States”.
Asked by Sky News’ Ireland correspondent Stephen Murphy if Ireland was also taking advantage, Mr Trump replied: “Of course they are.”
He added: “I have great respect for Ireland, for what they did and they should have done just what they did. But the United States shouldn’t have let that happen. We had stupid leaders, we had leaders who didn’t have a clue.
“All of a sudden Ireland has our pharmaceutical companies, this beautiful island of five million people has got the entire US pharmaceutical industry in its grasp.”
Politics latest: Starmer promises to ‘keep options on the table’
Mr Trump said he loves Ireland, where he has a golf course – but said he wishes the US had “not been so stupid for so many years, not just with Ireland, with everybody”.
Many US pharmaceutical companies have set up their manufacturing facilities in Ireland due to its low 12.5% corporate tax rate.
Irish firms then pay a royalty fee to US parent companies so they can use formulas to make products – meaning Ireland could be the hardest hit EU member by Mr Trump’s 25% tariffs.
‘I would have imposed 200% tariffs’
Mr Trump said if he had been president when those companies started to move to Ireland, he would have imposed a 200% tariff on them so they could not sell anything into the US and they would have “stayed here”.
The president said he would like to see American pharmaceutical companies returning to the US, but expected Mr Martin to “fight on that issue”.
He also told Sky News he would “absolutely” place tariffs on cars from the EU.
Read more:
What are Trump’s tariffs and how will they affect the UK?
The man Canada is sending to battle Trump
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Should UK be worried by Trump tariffs?
Mr Trump accused previous presidents of having “lost big segments” of the US economy and said the EU “treats us very badly”, referencing a recent ruling against Apple.
“They have not been fair. They sue our companies and win massive amounts of money. They sued Apple, won 17 billion US dollars and they use that for other reasons, I guess, to run the European Union,” he said.
“So I’m not knocking it. They’re doing what they should be doing, perhaps for the European Union, but it does create ill will – and as you know, we’re going to be doing reciprocal tariffs so whatever they charge us with, we’re charging them. Nobody can complain about that.”
‘Great honour’ to meet Irish Taoiseach
Despite his criticism of Ireland, Mr Trump said it was a “great honour” to have the taoiseach at the White House.
He said the US has “tremendous” business relationships in Ireland “and that will only get stronger”.
Reporters asked questions in the same style as the Zelenskyy meeting. Pic: Reuters
The US leader said his personal relationship with Mr Martin was “very, very strong and very, very good” as he thanked him for coming to Washington DC to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.
He added that Mr Martin did not “look nervous” about the subject of tariffs during their meeting.
Taoiseach reminds Trump of Irish investment in US
The taoiseach praised Mr Trump’s work on “peace initiatives” and said the two countries have a “very good relationship, a historic one”.
But, hinting at the tariffs imposed by Mr Trump, Mr Martin said: “It’s a two-way street. We are investing a lot more in America.”
He said he understands where Mr Trump is coming from, but added that Irish companies Ryanair and aircraft leasing firm Aercap “buy more Boeing” planes than anybody else outside the US.
Content Source: news.sky.com