Michael McGrath has said he expects tariffs on US imports into the European Union will be approved and begin next week.
A vote on a package of retaliatory tariffs will take place tomorrow and is expected to pass.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Ireland’s EU Commissioner the details will have to wait until then.
“We anticipate that the first round of countermeasures will come into effect next week,” Commissioner McGrath said.
“It’s only when the measures actually come into effect that the full list is published.
“But we are in a position where, as of today, the 25% tariffs imposed by President Trump on steel, aluminium and car exports to the EU to the US are in effect.”
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— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 7, 2025
Commissioner McGrath warned Irish people that the trade war will cause a huge amount of disruption to economies on both sides of the Atlantic.
“What we have seen from the US administration is probably the biggest disruption to the system of global trade that we’ve experienced in up to a century,” he said.
“The scale of this is very difficult to overstate [and] the impact is real.”
He added that the EU’s “strong preference” is for a negotiated deal.
Main image: Minister for Finance Michael McGrath TD. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
