When United States President Donald Trump welcomed Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday for the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the White House, the U.S. President tagged Ireland to the list of countries he says are taking advantage of the United States, with Ireland’s pharma sector a specific target of the President’s ire.
The Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) responded quietly, noting Ireland’s contributions to the U.S.
Trump said: “I have great respect for Ireland”, explaining he understood how and why Ireland developed a strong pharmaceutical sector but added pointedly that “the United States shouldn’t have let it happen.”
“We had stupid leaders. We had leaders that didn’t have a clue or let’s say they weren’t businesspeople, but they didn’t have a clue what was happening and all of a sudden Ireland has our pharmaceutical companies,” said Trump.
700 Irish companies
Martin gently pressed back, reminding Trump that more than 700 Irish companies are also based in America and that Ireland’s two largest airlines buy more aircraft from Boeing than any other nation outside the USA.
Later, at the annual White House Shamrock Ceremony, the Taoiseach told President Trump that earlier in the week he had visited Texas and met Governor Greg Abbott.
Martin said, “I met with Texas-based companies using Ireland as a gateway into the European market, as well as the Irish companies investing in – and buying from Texas,” adding that “All across the United States, men and women go to work every morning in Irish-owned companies. Those companies play a key role in the US economy, operating in every sector, in every State.”
“Ireland is now in the top ten as a source of foreign direct investment in the US,” adding “not bad for a small island.”
Low-tax policies
Trump criticized Ireland’s low-tax policies that attract US pharmaceutical companies, contributing significantly to Ireland’s exports to the US.
He blamed the European Union for targeting US companies and highlighted trade imbalances, noting, inaccurately, that the EU doesn’t accept US farm products or cars, while the US imports millions of European cars.
According to Ireland’s Central Statistics Office, in 2023, the USA dominated Ireland’s trade with North and Central America, accounting for 89% of both exports (€54 billion) and imports (€23 billion) to the region.
Organic chemicals and medical & pharmaceutical products made up two-thirds (€36 billion) of Ireland’s exports to the USA, while aircraft imports from the USA totalled €6.8 billion, representing 30% of total imports from the USA.
Entry point to EU
A spokesperson for IDA Ireland, the Irish Government’s inward investment promotion agency told Euractiv: “US companies view Ireland as an entry point to the EU, and to access wider global markets. Our proven track record as a place to successfully implement complex and scaled FDI projects is also of critical importance.”
“Of particular note is that 85% of the goods and services exported from IDA clients annually are to international markets outside of North America.”
Ireland has a trade surplus in goods with the US and a trade deficit in services. While the goods trade surplus was €50bn in 2024, it’s estimated that the services deficit was €163bn, meaning that Ireland’s overall deficit with the US is in the order of €113bn.
The IDA said: “A significant proportion of Ireland’s goods exports to the US are in pharma products (45%). US pharma companies operate global supply chains, and exports from Ireland to the US are concentrated in intermediate products within these very integrated supply chains.”
“The majority of pharma sector exports to the US (approx. 84%) are intermediary goods shipped to the US to be finished in US factories, by US workers, thereby adding value to the US economy.”
Irish innovation heritage
A spokesperson for the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association told Euractiv: “Our heritage in innovation is key to attracting new investments with businesses continuing to find Ireland an attractive and productive location among their global sites.”
They added that Ireland continues to see real investment in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing and business services from across the US, Europe (EU and non-EU) and Asia, noting that the industry’s local footprint is significant, with 50,000 direct jobs at sites across the country making medicines for the global market.
The IPHA said they welcomed IDA Ireland’s recently published five-year strategy which identifies health as one of four strategic drivers of opportunity, building on Ireland’s life sciences success.
“[Ireland’s pharma] industry looks forward to collaborating with IDA Ireland when it cites next-generation therapies, ‘smart’ medical technologies, digital and connected health, accelerated drug development, advanced manufacturing, and commercial services,” said the IPHA spokesperson.
Martin said he hoped to see Trump in Ireland soon, referencing Doonbeg in County Clare, where the President has his Trump International Golf Links & Hotel. Ireland can only hope that Trump’s pharma fixation is just par for the course and not a bogey.
By Brian Maguire
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',
'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');
fbq('init', '307743630704587');
fbq('track', 'PageView');