Most American companies are likely to remain in Ireland despite threats made by US President Donald Trump.
That’s according to Dara Calleary, incoming Fianna Fáil Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural, Community Development and the Gaeltacht.
During his election campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised to cut corporate tax rates to incentivise businesses to the US.
With 11% of Irish workers employed in US-owned foreign multinationals, there are concerns Ireland's economy may suffer during Trump's term.
However, Minister Calleary told The Anton Savage Show that Ireland’s skilled workforce would be difficult to replace.
“What we’re offering is an incredibly talented workforce, and the manufacturing process of US companies here in Ireland are not simple,” he said.
“They’re complex - they’re pharmaceutical, they’re healthcare, they’re tech - 45% of American companies that are based here have a research function.
“Through that research function, over many years, they have come up with products that have changed the lives of people right across the world, including in America.”
People walk past Google's headquarters in London on November 1, 2018. (Photo by Tolga Akmen / various sources / AFP) (Photo credit should read TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)Minister Calleary said that products made in Ireland are integral to the US health system in particular.
“There was a very big divide within President Trump’s team around how they get those skills; you saw the debate around visas,” he said.
“We have those skills here. They are working, they are delivering to the United States – and the kind of products they’re delivering can’t be remanufactured overnight.
“They’re things that keep the US health system going, and that will be part of the offer: ‘We are providing you with products that are keeping your country going’ - and yes, we will work to ensure that we also find other opportunities.”
Employment
According to Minister Calleary, Irish companies are the seventh biggest employer in the United States – including in many states that would be very supportive of President Trump.
“So, not just looking at Washington and either house, but going down state by state, identifying local legislators with an Irish interest; they’re going to be really important in this as well.
“This is going to be an all Government approach to defending our interests but also growing our interests.”
Minister Calleary said that Ireland’s economy has proven itself to be resilient by surviving the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the war in Ukraine.
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Main image: American multinational technology company Apple store and logo seen in Hong Kong. (Photo by Budrul Chukrut / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
