The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee is expected to raise the issue of US tariffs on Ireland's medical devices sector, as well as pharmaceuticals, agrifood and whiskey exports, when EU trade ministers meet senior US trade officials in Brussels today.
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and trade representative Jamieson Greer will meet EU ministers over lunch, the first official visit by both men, and the most significant encounter between both sides since a framework agreement on trade between the EU and US was published in August.
The EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič met both US officials earlier this morning and last night, and is reported to have conveyed a list of sensitive EU products which member states want to be subjected to lower US tariffs.
Products include pasta, cheese, wines and spirits, as well as olive oil, diamonds, tools, metal pipes, ship engine parts, industrial equipment, fabrics, shoes, hats, ceramics and industrial robots, according to Politico.
These products were left off the trade deal struck in July between US president Donald Trump and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland.
Arriving at the meeting today, Ms McEntee said: "We've worked really hard in building our relationship [with the United States] at an Ireland level, but also at an EU level on many matters, including pharma.
"It's obviously a really important industry for us. We export a significant amount to the US, but it's also equally a very important industry for the US. Many of the drugs that are developed in Ireland go on then, and obviously there's further development in the US."
She added: "It's our largest partner, and so we're going to work really hard, [and] in the EU, making sure that it's beneficial, not just for industry and business, but for individuals, consumers, for our population as well.
"We'll be making the case, as I will be today, to make sure that medtech is very much part of that, to make sure that our whiskey industry and our agri-food industry is part of that as well, and then there'll be many other areas."
Earlier, Mr Šefčovič said he had had "positive" discussions with Mr Lutnick and Mr Greer ahead of the ministerial encounter.
"We are well aligned that the EU and US have a robust deal in place, and today it's about taking stock of its implementation," he told reporters.
He said the EU was delivering on its commitments to the US under the trade agreement, with purchases of US LNG, nuclear energy and oil already reaching $200bn this year.
He added: "The US share of EU LNG imports alone has increased from 45% to 60%, driven by long-term contracts. EU investments into the US have also climbed nearly €154bn since January, and we know that the contracts are being negotiated on the purchase of more than $40bn in [advanced] chips for the European economy."
Mr Šefčovič said more work was needed to reduce tariffs on EU steel and steel derivatives exports to the US; he said both sides were seeking to reduce tariffs and to "confront global overcapacity".
He said EU and US officials would also work together to secure reliable supplies of critical minerals, and would also be discussing the EU's relations with China.
Meanwhile, Mc McEntee said she welcomed the "extremely positive" reports from the meetings between US and Ukrainian officials, as well as senior EU figures, in Geneva last night.
"Europe has been very clear: any discussion around the EU [in ending the Ukraine war] must include the EU, and must obviously be agreed by the EU. But I think the soundings yesterday, certainly, and the feedback, [were] very much that this is a step in the right direction.
"Of course, we can't lose sight of the fact that there cannot be any agreement without Ukraine being front and centre. There cannot be any agreement where land is taken or ceded by force, and we have to ensure that the security, not just of Ukraine, but of the EU as a whole, is protected in any agreement."
