Tánaiste to meet representatives from pharmaceutical industry as Government prepares for potential trade war
The online meeting comes amid an ongoing US investigation into the pharmaceutical sector. The Trump administration launched the Section 232 probe in April to determine which drug manufacturers are operating in countries that pose a national security threat to the US.
In advance of the meeting, Simon Harris said: 'The economic partnership between Ireland and the US, and the EU and the US in the pharmaceutical sector, is critically important.
"Trade and investment in this sector is mutually beneficial. Section 232 investigations are focused on national security issues; the integrated supply chain in pharma products between the EU, including Ireland and the US, supports rather than threatens our collective transatlantic economic security."
Mr Harris has engaged directly with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and US trade representative Jamieson Greer on the pharma issue to outline Ireland's position that the treatment of pharma should lie within negotiations with the EU.
About 80% of what US pharma companies export back to the United States is not the finished product.
In a letter to the Government's trade forum, Mr Harris said the Government was 'preparing for every scenario' which includes the introduction of EU countermeasures. The Tánaiste said there would be 'significant economic disruption' if Mr Trump's 30% tariffs were introduced, which would include job losses.
Mr Harris' letter came as public expenditure minister Jack Chambers reiterated that there will be no cost of living package in this year's budget.
"We will not be doing one-off payments, or one-off cost of living payments in this year's Budget. We had a series of budgets in the last number of years, obviously through covid, through the inflationary period where we responded," he said.
Read More
Thousands of vehicles sit idle at EU port as Trump's tariffs leave their mark
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
13 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Russian attacks on four Ukrainian cities leave 15 injured
Russia has pounded four Ukrainian cities overnight, injuring at least 15 people in an attack that mostly targeted energy infrastructure. The latest bombardment in Russia's escalating aerial campaign against civilian areas came ahead of a September 2 deadline set by US President Donald Trump for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal in the three-year war, under the threat of possible severe Washington sanctions if it does not. No date has yet been publicly set for a possible third round of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine. Two previous rounds delivered no progress apart from prisoner swaps. Russia launched 400 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as one ballistic missile, during the night, the Ukrainian air force said. Rescue workers try to put out a fire at an apartment building (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) The strikes targeted north-eastern Kharkiv, which is Ukraine's second-largest city, President Volodymyr Zelensky's home town of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, Vinnytsia in the west and Odesa in the south. 'Russia does not change its strategy,' Mr Zelensky said. 'To effectively counter this terror, we need a systemic strengthening of defence: more air defence, more interceptors, and more resolve so that Russia feels our response.' Mr Trump has pledged to deliver more weapons to Ukraine, including vital Patriot air defence systems, and threatened to slap additional sanctions on Russia. It was his toughest stance towards Russian President Vladimir Putin since he returned to the White House nearly six months ago. But some US lawmakers and European government officials expressed misgivings that the 50-day deadline handed Mr Putin the opportunity to capture more Ukrainian territory before any settlement to end the fighting. Other US ultimatums to Mr Putin in recent months have failed to persuade the Russian leader to stop his invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed in the war, many of them along the 620-mile front line, and Russian barrages of cities have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, the United Nations said. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said on Tuesday that 'Putin holds a theory of victory that posits that Russia can achieve its war aims by continuing to make creeping gains on the battlefield indefinitely and outlasting Western support for Ukraine and Ukraine's ability to defend itself'. Mr Trump said the US is providing additional weapons for Ukraine but European countries are paying for them. While Ukraine and European officials were relieved at the US commitment after months of hesitation, some hoped Washington might shoulder some of the cost. 'We welcome President Trump's announcement to send more weapons to Ukraine, although we would like to see the US share the burden,' European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday. 'If we pay for these weapons, it's our support.'
Irish Examiner
13 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Micheál Martin and Mary Lou McDonald clash over inflation pressures on families
Micheál Martin and Mary Lou McDonald have clashed in the Dáil over inflationary pressures on families. Ms McDonald accused the Government of preparing to throw families 'under the bus' in the upcoming budget, while Mr Martin said the Sinn Féin leader was 'oblivious' to the economic climate. The Taoiseach said he would 'test' Sinn Féin's spending pledges, while Ms McDonald said he 'couldn't care less' about the cost pressures on families. The Sinn Féin leader read out in the Dáil the experiences of four people struggling with the cost of living, saying the cost of a weekly shop has gone up. She said the 'kick in the teeth for people is that you flatly tell them that you're not going to help', after the Government said there will be no one-off measures in October's budget. She acknowledged the economic uncertainty caused by Donald Trump's threat of a 30% tariff on EU goods, but said working class families and young people would be 'the real casualty' in that scenario. 'Why? Because they have a Government that cares more about the high rollers, the big bankers, your squadrons of junior and super junior ministers, than you do about struggling households,' she told the Dáil during Leaders' Questions on Wednesday. Mr Martin said he would 'test' any budget measures put forward by Sinn Féin, accusing the party of offering to spend billions on whichever issue crops up. The Taoiseach said the Government understands there has been pressure on households since the end of the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He said cost-of-living packages were announced in subsequent budgets as a result, but this year offered a different economic scenario, which he accused Ms McDonald of being 'oblivious' to. 'I heard your spokesman talking about universal benefits for the high rollers. That's what your spokesman Pearse Doherty said this morning. 'He wants universal energy credits for the high incomes, for the high rollers. I will test you and your commitment and your principles. 'Will you agree to targeting? Will you agree to prioritising those in respect of child poverty in the forthcoming budget? Because we will target and we will prioritise those most in need.' He said permanent measures such as the 'gamechanger' free books scheme and hot school meals programme have also been implemented. Mr Martin added that Ireland's 1.8% rate of inflation is the third lowest in the EU and is 'mid-table' in relation to food prices. He said investment in the public's future through spending on infrastructure is 'important'. 'For the first time ever now, we're back to pre-famine population on the island of Ireland, that's a positive, but we've got to provide for that in terms of our water infrastructure, in terms of housing, energy infrastructure, public transport and roads. 'But there are limits to what any government can do, and you're the opposition with no limits in terms of what you will spend. 'It doesn't matter, whatever turns up on any day, you will spend a billion or two billion on it, that's your philosophy and that's your mindset.' Read More MABS sees 10% surge in families in debt due to soaring cost of living
Irish Examiner
13 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish pig prices fall 20c/kg in two weeks
Irish pig prices fell by a further 10c/kg last Friday, bringing the average to €2.06-2.08/kg for pigs sold in Ireland. This marks a 20c/kg drop over two weeks — an unprecedented fall, especially in summer. Supplies remain tight across Europe, and demand for live pigs in Ireland is still strong. Yet Ireland is the only member state to see two consecutive 10c/kg reductions, which is unsustainable. The average price for R-grade carcasses in week 27 was 210c/kg (ex Vat), down 1.5% from the previous week. This is broadly in line with the four-week average, but 3.4% below the same period last year. Ireland's price is now 102% of the EU average reported to the European Commission for the week starting June 28. Factory throughput in Irish export plants for the week ending July 6 was 66,569 head — up 933 from the previous week and 5,736 more than the same week in 2024. Elsewhere, despite a national holiday in France, grain trading was active. Wheat and corn prices fell, while rapeseed rose by €2.75/t to €465.75/t for August 2025. The weak euro failed to bolster prices. Read More Agricultural output price index up 20.7% in the 12 months to May
