And so it begins. This morning the world is waking up to the news that Donald Trump has imposed steep tariffs on three of the US’s largest trading partners.
In an executive order on Saturday, Trump applied additional tariffs of 25 per cent to all imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 per cent tariff on imports from China. These come into force on Tuesday.
In a post on his social media channel, Truth Social, Trump said he had imposed the tariffs “because of the major threat of illegal aliens and deadly drugs killing our citizens, including fentanyl”.
The move, following through on a pre-election pledge by the president (albeit it the tariffs for China are lower than those cited during the campaign), appears to end hopes that the Trump administration would take a nuanced approach to international trade policy.
It also indicates that Trump is willing to use tariffs to progress non-economic issues.
In response, Canada and Mexico have announced their own plans for retaliatory tariffs on the US.
In his column this weekend, written before the tariffs were imposed, Cliff Taylor looked at Trump’s suggestion that diversity and inclusion policies in air traffic control were partly to blame for the tragic crash in Washington DC.
Taylor notes Trump said he made the link “because I have common sense”.
While it is “easy to dismiss this as Trump being Trump”, as Taylor writes, “there are clear signs of change internationally”.
These changes are going to pose questions here for Ireland, as an open economy with big links to the US, and most likely sooner, rather than later.
In his Overheard column Colin Coyle highlights concern in Iveagh House about Project 2025, the 900-page policy diatribe formulated by an ultraconservative think tank seeking to influence Trump’s presidency.
One area of immediate change is Trump giving climate scepticism a turbo boost.
Businesses in Ireland and elsewhere are wondering what this shift means for them. “It looks like manna from heaven for the likes of Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, or the big aircraft leasing companies based here.”
Taylor says at a time when Trump is swiftly making changes, the EU is under pressure due to low growth with the European Commission promising in a new competitiveness plan this week to pull back “drastically” on the regulatory and administrative burden facing businesses.
Despite Trump’s regulatory push back and his attack on the green agenda, Taylor says it is essential for Ireland to think longer term and develop its own supply of renewable energy.
“Surely the climate agenda will survive and, in time, revive internationally.” He says the new government needs fresh thinking on “Ireland’s energy transition and persuading a public that the State has a deliverable strategy,” not least to make it more resilient in the face of weather events like Storm Éowyn.
“Trump’s culture wars have just got real. He is changing the agenda. The context for Irish policy is changing too, and strategic thinking is required.”
Five Key Reads
- The fires that destroyed the homes of thousands in Los Angeles dominated the news for much of January, Irish Times reporter Keith Duggan visited the famous US city this week and describes the experience as being like driving through a post-nuclear suburbia, stating that the scale of destruction is unfathomable.
- We are now more than a week removed from the historic Storm Éowyn which ripped through the country, leaving close to a million people on the island of Ireland without power. While most of are now getting back to normal, there are still thousands without power. One woman in Castlerea this week confronted the Taoiseach after power cuts saw her lose the contents of her freezer three times in a year.
- At least 1,000 Ukrainian men, women and children living in hotels across Ireland have received notifications in recent weeks that they are to be relocated to new accommodation by February. Olya Maryntseva, a community worker who came to Ireland with her two children in 2022, said relocation is “frightening” for people who have already been displaced, sometimes twice, in recent years
- Despite growing noises about the death of working from home, it’s clear many of Ireland’s top companies are sticking to the hybrid working model. Joe Brennan this week had a look at where firms stand, from KPMG to Bank of Ireland.
- A year on from having a stroke, Feargal Logan’s life has changed but he counts himself very lucky. The former Tyrone co-manager talks to Malachy Clerkin about his journey, which at one point saw him spend “a good three, four months in bed”.
The Six Nations got under way this weekend and Simon Easterby’s Ireland got off to a cracking start with victory over England in Dublin. While Ireland had a slightly ropey start, Gerry Thornley reckoned the second half was arguably their best since the World Cup. Malachy Clerkin writes that we should “ignore the knowing bores” who talk down the victory. “Ireland sucked up everything England had to throw at them, played like drains themselves for most of the first half, and still had enough in hand to beat them out the gate.”
Meanwhile, in this week’s On the Money newsletter, Dominic Coyle tells you how to save money on your bin collection. Sign up here to receive the newsletter straight to your inbox every Friday.
As always, there is much more on irishtimes.com, including rundowns of all the latest movies in our film reviews, tips for the best restaurants in our food section and all the latest in sport. There are plenty more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.
We value your views. Please feel free to send comments, feedback or suggestions for topics you would like to see covered to feedback@irishtimes.com.
