Trump’s tariffs will be ‘for the rest of our lives’
Donald Trump’s former White House aide Mick Mulvaney has said the US president’s tariffs are here to stay, writes Craig Hughes.
The Republican leader’s former chief of staff was speaking to Irish business figures just days after the US Supreme Court ruled that Mr Trump’s sweeping global tariffs on imports into the US were unlawful.
Mr Trump reacted to the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs, which have already taken in $130bn, by introducing a global 10% tariff, which came into effect on Tuesday.
Mr Mulvaney, who served as Mr Trump’s chief of staff between January 2019 and March 2020, said that there is an acceptance in both the Republican and Democratic parties that tariffs are “going to continue” after the Trump presidency.
He said that “the attitude towards trade has changed” and the focus is now on whether the free trade policy is beneficial to the US, adding: “You’re not going to see the next Republican or the next Democratic administration, go back to the 1990s, [this is] permanent change, for the rest of our lives.”
He made the remarks in a Q&A session with the editor of Business Plus, Sarah Freeman, at an event in the US Ambassador Ed Walsh’s residence in the Phoenix Park on Tuesday night for major Irish companies operating in the US.
Mr Walsh said that the Supreme Court’s ruling “does not change the fact… we still have the largest trade deficit in the history of the world” and if action is not taken “our economy will be in trouble”.
Also in attendance was Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke, who told the event that that it was “important” to highlight that Ireland has a trade deficit with the US when services are taken into account and not just goods.
“I would really point out that we have a very, very large deficit with the US here in Ireland. Critically, when you bring services into it…
“So, it’s important that we really, you know, highlight those issues about what Ireland is doing and the work that we’re doing, and to ensure that the facts always comes to the top,” he said.
But Mr Mulvaney bluntly responded that Mr Trump “doesn’t care as much” about services and that is “more focused on trade in goods, not services”.
Arguing that Democrats would continue with the tariff policy, Mr Mulvaney told the event that the view on trade in the US “has changed” and that “both parties are more protectionist than they were 20 years ago”, adding: “I think that stays.”
Mr Mulvaney pointed to tariffs imposed on China during Mr Trump’s first term in office which were left in place by Democratic president Joe Biden’s administration after he took office.
This was despite the Democrats opposing the measures when Mr Trump introduced them.
Ambassador Walsh said that despite the Supreme Court ruling the US will continue to use “various trade tools” to address the country’s large debt.
Mr Walsh, a close friend of Mr Trump, said that the new 10% global tariffs would last for 150 days.
In the first week of May, Mr Walsh will lead an Irish delegation of businesses to the Select USA Summit in Washington DC in a bid to promote further Irish-US trade.
Peter Burke meeting with Ambassador Ed Walsh at the event.
In his remarks, Mr Walsh highlighted the “trade deficit” the US has with Ireland.
In 2024, Ireland had a trade surplus in goods with the US amounting to €70bn, something Mr Trump has repeatedly pointed to as wanting to address.
Several major companies have already mounted legal challenges contesting the tariffs and have sought refunds.
Comments (0)