Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he believes there will be negotiations with the United States following US President Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on international trading partners.
"I think this is not the end of the story ... I anticipate negotiations, I believe there will be negotiations," Mr Martin said.
He also said it was still too early to consider supporting businesses hit by President Donald Trump's import tariffs of 20% but that he expected talks with the US on the impact of the levies.
"It's somewhat early yet to be talking in terms of supports (for businesses)," Mr Martin told a press conference.
Ireland's priority is the protection of jobs and the economy, the Taoiseach said, adding: "We can and will weather this storm".
Tariffs "drive inflation, hurting people on both sides of the Atlantic", he said, adding that he "deeply regrets" the US decision to impose them.
Last night, President Donald Trump announced a 20% tariff on imports from the European Union, saying the figure is about half the EU levy on US goods.
Speaking on RTÉ's Six One News, Mr Martin said tariffs were bad and the US decision was the wrong decision which would damage the world economy and pause investment decisions which he said was "good for nobody."
He said the 20% tariff would hit 70% of goods from the EU, damaging Ireland's agri-food industry and general trade.
Martin dismisses idea of tariffs on US services
The Taoiseach said whilst some countries, including France, had articulated the idea of targeting US services including banking and big tech that Ireland was against this, certainly initially.
"There's no point in making things worse. The tech sector is a big employer across Europe and is an important sector. You're looking then at a fully fledged trade war, which will have even more damaging repercussions," he said.
He said he did not believe this push on targetting US services was widespread across the EU. "Some of the bigger EU member states may be pursuing that as a sort of nuclear option," he said.
Speaking at Government Buildings this afternoon, the Taoiseach said Ireland will now reflect with its European partners on how best to respond, adding that the response should be "considered and measured".
"Any action should be proportionate, aimed at defending the interests of our businesses, workers and citizens," he said.
"Now is the time for dialogue and I believe that a negotiated way forward is the only sensible one. A confrontation is in no one's interests. Ireland will be a strong advocate for a constructive solution which enhances the existing and strong transatlantic trading relationship.
"As a small open economy and as a country that has built our prosperity on a policy of free and fair trade, there is no doubt that the imposition of tariffs by the US will have an adverse impact."
At a glance: What you need to know about the US tariffs
Speaking alongside the Taoiseach, Ireland's European Commissioner Michael McGrath said it is important not to "react impulsively".
"We are finalising the first package of countermeasures in response to the tariffs that had been announced on steel and we are preparing for further countermeasures to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail.
"I think we have a collective responsibility to ensure that that 'if' does not come to pass ... we want to see meaningful, substantive negotiations take place quickly because the EU will need to respond in the event that negotiations fail.
"We have been preparing for this scenario and many alternative scenarios in respect of trade, for many months. So the EU stands ready, but we want to avoid that scenario where tariffs are being introduced against each other because we know what the consequences are... it's not a road that any of us should want to go down."
Govt expects US measures on pharma sector, says Tánaiste
Earlier, Tánaiste Simon Harris said that the Government's "working assumption" is that there will be further US tariffs focused on pharmaceuticals, after the sector received an exemption from the 20% tax on EU goods.
Speaking as he arrived at Government Buildings this morning, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade said: "I think we have to take President Trump at his word here. He has been very clear that he intended to put in place EU-wide tariffs, he announced them last night.
"He's also been very clear that there's a number of sectors that he wants to take specific measures in relation to. Steel and aluminium, he's already done. The car industry he's already done and he's indicated semiconductors and lumber and pharma.
"Therefore, my working assumption has to be that there will be further measures directed at pharma, or at least that that's the intention of the US administration.
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"Of course, we continue to engage. I had a good conversation with the US administration last week in relation to this.
"We're making the point that actually about 80% of what we produce in companies here that goes into the US, from a pharma point of view, aren't finished products, they're commodities that actually go back into US factories, create jobs for people to pay taxes there."
Mr Harris noted that other EU countries also have strong pharmaceutical presences, including Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.
He said the European Union "has to respond if the US refuses to engage, refuses to negotiate".
Mr Harris said the EU was ready to respond as a "much larger economic trading bloc" than the US, adding: "We can't just kind of stand idly by.
"I really believe that the European Union wants to find a way forward. We don't want to be involved in tit for tat. We'd much rather be involved in talks."
However, he said the EU "will have to respond" if a solution could not be found through talks.
Additional reporting Mícheál Lehane
