Now that the dust has settled on the dramatic US Supreme Court ruling which rejected Donald Trump's tariffs, the immediate impact on Ireland has become clear.
Visibly furious, the US President announced last Friday night he would immediately introduce a new 10% global tariff for 150 days.
The following day he took to social media again and heightened confusion by announcing he planned to raise rates to 15%.
On Monday, the US Customs and Border Protection issued a note to say it would be implementing a 10% duty.
Bewildered? You weren't alone.
The immediate domestic question was what rate would Irish exporters face?
A week on and the fog is now lifting.
Prior to Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2024, there were a range of tariffs on goods exported to the US.
These duties, called "most favoured nation" status, were established under World Trade Organisation rules.
The new situation is that Donald Trump’s 10% tariff will be in addition to those duties.
The "most favoured nation" charges are an average of 4.5% for Ireland meaning many Irish exporters now face an average tariff of 14.5%, according to Government sources.
Critically, there are exemptions - a range of Irish exports including pharmaceuticals and computer chips.
According to Bank of Ireland chief economist Conall MacCoille, some 84% of Irish goods exports to the US are still exempt and the effective rate for Ireland is "amongst the lowest" among developed countries in the OECD.
In many respects, the state of play is similar to the situation which existed before the Supreme Court judgement when companies were using the unratified EU-US trade agreement as the basis for doing business.
That agreement had an "all in" tariff of 15% and also maintained key exemptions.
But the big difference is that these new arrangements are only in place for 150 days or until July 26, unless extended by the US Congress.
The key issue is the future of the EU-US trade agreement which was brokered in Scotland last July.
Washington and Brussels want the agreement to proceed.
When the US Supreme Court struck down Donald Trump’s tariffs, the EU immediately froze the ratification process of the deal.
The judgement did not make any findings in relation to the EU-US agreement.
But according to Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee, a "key instrument used by the US to negotiate and implement" the agreement is "no longer available".
That is because the Supreme Court found Donald Trump overstepped his powers by the introduction of legislation to bring in tariffs last year.
Speaking to members of the European Parliament, Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said the EU "remains committed to our deal".
He said it would be "imperative to keep the process moving forward."
The agreement was beneficial for Ireland because it meant the bulk of our exports would be free of tariffs and gave certainty of a 15% rate. The Irish Government is keen to see it reinstated.
But the view of many observers is that the Supreme Court ruling creates major problems for the US to revive it.
When Commissioner Šefčovič addressed MEPs this week, it was apparent there were differing views about the agreement.
Belgian MEP Kathleen Van Bremp urged the Commissioner to "go back to the negotiating table".
She said Donald Trump had been "violating the deal" when he threatened additional tariffs after the EU refused to hand over Greenland to the US last month.
However, Ireland's Barry Cowen said "a good deal remains a good deal".
For exporters there are now a number of problems. It is not clear what will happen after July 26, when the 150 days expire.
Some customers in the US may be tempted to wait until after that date in the hope of benefiting from lower tariffs.
Secondly, there is a concern that Donald Trump will hike rates again - although many of his threats don't materialise.
Thirdly, it is very unclear if the EU-US trade agreement will be fixed. That pact had put trading conditions on a steady footing.
Uncertainty is back. And that is always bad for business.
