Simon Harris holds call with ‘tax scam’ critic in US administration
Mr Harris took the opportunity to congratulate the secretary on his appointment and said he looked forward to working with him and the US administration. Picture: PA
Simon Harris has spoken with US Secretary of Commerce who recently described Ireland as his favourite “tax scam”.
The Tánaiste had a “constructive and engaging” call with Howard Lutnick on Monday night.
It comes after Mr Lutnick singled out Ireland for criticism as the US prepares to announce a raft of tariffs on the EU.
Mr Harris took the opportunity to congratulate the secretary on his appointment and said he looked forward to working with him and the US administration. The Tánaiste said that Ireland values the economic relationship between our two countries and between the US and the EU.
The Tánaiste and the Commerce Secretary exchanged views on trade policy and the transatlantic economic relationship and they agreed to keep in close contact.
They both hope to meet in person soon.
Mr Lutnick has previously described Ireland as his favourite “tax scam”. He has also said on social media that it is “nonsense that Ireland of all places runs a trade surplus at our expense”.
There is concern in Ireland that the new US administration’s protectionist approach could pose a risk to an Irish economy which is significantly sustained by long-standing investment from US multinationals.
Speaking on the All-In Podcast last week, Mr Lutnick said: “We’re going to try and fix a whole bunch of these tax scams.
“Ireland is my favourite.”
He added: “What do they do?
“Oh, they have all of our (intellectual property) for all our great tech companies and great pharma companies.
“They all put it there because it's low tax. They don’t pay us, they pay them. So that is going to end. ”
The Government believes it is highly likely that US president Donald Trump will proceed with further tariffs on the EU on April 2.
The EU has delayed until mid-April its countermeasures to the Trump administration’s increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to 25% – which was introduced earlier this month.
Europe had intended to implement measures on goods from the US worth some €26bn in two phases, on April 1 and April 13.
The tariffs, now delayed until mid-April, were to include steel and aluminium, as well as goods such as bourbon.
Mr Trump had announced plans to impose further reciprocal tariffs on April 2.
