Irish exports climb to €134.4bn as US pharma sales surge
tariffs.
The
Central Statistics Office
(CSO) said on Thursday that the value of exports of pharmaceutical and medicinal goods climbed by almost three-quarters to €13.7 billion in the five months to the end of May compared with last year.
The sector, which is dominated in the Republic by multinational companies, has been bracing itself for impact from
US President Donald Trump's trade policy.
Although the White House has so far declined to place tariffs on pharmaceutical imports to the US, Mr Trump said this week that he was likely to impose levies as soon as the end of the month.
In anticipation of those duties, pharmaceutical companies have been stockpiling goods in the US.
READ MORE
Jane Burmanje, statistician in the CSO's international trade in goods division, said the overall increase in Irish exports has largely been driven by ballooning exports to the US.
'Year to date, January to May 2025 exports of goods to the US increased by 153 per cent (€42.8 billion) to €70.8 billion compared with the same period last year (€28 billion),' Ms Burmanje said.
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Trump says tariffs on pharma and computer chip are likely by August 1st
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Robert Purdue, head of dealing at global financial services firm Ebury, said the threat of 'punitive tariffs' has driven a 'rush to accelerate shipments' to the US.
'It suggests 2025 will be a year of two halves with an artificial spike in H1 likely to be followed by a slump as exporters re-stock and take stock of the new global trade environment,' he said.
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'New threats of significant tariffs on pharmaceutical products will be hugely concerning for the economy given the critical role this sector plays in Ireland.'
Mr Trump told reporters on Tuesday that the White House could introduce tariffs on pharmaceutical goods simultaneously with the introduction of 10 per cent levies on a range of goods next month.
'Probably at the end of the month, and we're going to start off with a low tariff and give the pharmaceutical companies a year or so to build, and then we're going to make it a very high tariff,' he said.
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