NI businesses face uncertainty after Trump tariffs
Tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday have left Northern Ireland businesses facing “unwelcome” uncertainty.
Roger Pollen, head of the Federation of Small Businesses NI, said the full impact of the tariffs was not yet clear.
Northern Ireland goods entering the US will face a 10% tariff from Thursday, under a tariff which has been imposed on the UK as a whole.
Meanwhile, goods from the Republic of Ireland will be hit with a 20% tariff as part of measures Trump has imposed on the EU.
“We’re going to have to work out what’s the implication of this – where’s the cost going to fall,” Mr Pollen told BBC News NI.
“All of those sorts of things will shake out over time but at the moment it causes a lot of uncertainty which is unwelcome.”
He added: “I wouldn’t want to suggest that 10% is low and that it’s not going to cause immense problems for a lot of people.
“I think it’s just lower than might have been feared.”
Northern Ireland’s Chamber of Commerce said it was reacting to Trump’s announcement on tariffs with caution.
Stuart Anderson, the chamber’s Director of Public Affairs and International Relations, said Northern Ireland was in a unique position and it was a “complex piece in terms of exports”.
“Yes, Northern Ireland is still part of the UK customs territory and therefore our exports on the face of it seem to have a 10% differential with the south (Republic of Ireland), however that’s really a complex question that really goes down to difficult things like rules of origin which are difficult to get to the bottom of,” he told BBC News NI.
“The main message would be we are looking out very clearly today for the response both from the EU and the UK, because that has a material impact when it comes to movements into Northern Ireland and that’s where our focus will be today.”
Tariffs are effectively taxes applied to goods imported from other countries.
Governments impose them in the hope of protecting local manufacturers from international competition.
Announcing the tariffs at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said it would be remembered as the day American industry was “reborn”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has told business chiefs in Downing Street that “clearly there will be an economic impact” from Trump’s tariffs – but the government will respond with “cool and calm heads”.
“Decisions we take in coming days and weeks will be guided only by our national interest, in the interests of our economy, in the interests of businesses around this table, in the interests of putting money in the pockets of working people,” he said.
“Clearly, there will be an economic impact from the decisions the US has taken, both here and globally.
“But I want to be crystal clear: we are prepared, indeed one of the great strengths of this nation is our ability to keep a cool head.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that the tariffs will deal a major blow to the world economy and be “dire for millions of people around the globe”.
She stressed that Europe would “stand at the side of those directly impacted”, having earlier noted that some of the world’s most vulnerable countries are being hit with the steepest tariffs.
Analysis: Could NI benefit from announcement?
John Campbell, BBC News NI economics editor
After Brexit, Northern Ireland was left in a unique trading position.
Goods manufactured there have barrier-free access to both the EU single market and the UK market. No other UK region or European country has that arrangement.
That was supposed to make NI an attractive location for manufacturing investment- “the world’s most exciting economic zone” the former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called it.
That hasn’t really happened – manufacturing performance has been muted.
But could the Trump tariffs inadvertently help fulfil some of that promise?
The 10% tariff on UK goods could give some NI exporters an advantage if they compete directly with producers in the Republic of Ireland who will face a 20% tariff.
Whiskey distilling is one example of that.
But this may be a relatively small benefit compared to the negative effect the Trump tariffs could have on global trade and economic growth.
‘Period of uncertainty’
Posting on X on Wednesday, First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she would prioritise “the prosperity and future of everyone who calls our island home”.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson said that “Northern Ireland remains exposed to potential EU retaliation, and local businesses must not become collateral damage”.
Alliance deputy leader Eoin Tennyson said: “Trump’s destructive trade war will damage living standards across the globe.”
Meanwhile, UUP assembly member Steve Aiken said that tariffs were “never good news”.
Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin said he could see “no justification” for the tariffs, adding that Ireland will reflect with its “EU partners on how best to proceed”.
Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) Simon Harris said the 20% tariff “could have a significant effect on Irish investment and the wider economy”.
Nina Carberry, a Fine Gael Member of the European Parliament, said a 20% tariff for goods entering the US would be a “major blow”.
She said she supported the European Commission in finding a “negotiated solution”.
Pharmaceutical exemption
US tariffs could have a more profound effect on the Republic of Ireland’s economy, which is heavily reliant on the US as an export market.
Trump has previously indicated his discontent with the scale of manufacturing by US pharmaceutical firms in Ireland.
A fact sheet published by the White House said pharmaceuticals will not be subject to the tariff.
However, they are likely to face tariffs in the future.
Speaking on Wednesday, Trump said: “Pharmaceutical companies are going to be coming roaring back, they’re all coming back to our country because if they don’t they’ve got a big tax to pay.”
