DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland on Wednesday said it was setting up an advisory panel of senior U.S.-based businesspeople as it braces for possible tax or tariff measures from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ireland’s low-tax business model is uniquely exposed to any tariff or tax policy changes from the United States and its public finances would be at significant risk if large U.S. multinationals shifted activity out of the country.
Mostly U.S.-owned foreign multinationals employ about 11% of Irish workers and the funding of public services is hugely reliant on the corporate tax they pay. Just three big U.S. companies account for about one in every eight euros of total tax collected in Ireland.
Foreign Minister Simon Harris said in a statement that the advice and analysis of the new Strategic Economic Advisory Panel would be crucial in ensuring Ireland’s competitiveness as an economic partner of the United States.
Harris also announced the formation of a committee of key domestic stakeholders to discuss U.S. trade developments and opportunities as “protectionism, national security concerns and geo-strategic considerations” increasingly shape national trade policies.
(Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
