The White House’s tariff wars also risk reopening simmering Brexit tensions in Northern Ireland, as my colleague Lisa O’Carroll explains:
Donald Trump’s tariff plan could undermine the Brexit deal between the EU and the UK for trading arrangements in Northern Ireland, a highly sensitive agreement designed to maintain the 1998 peace pact.
As part of the president’s attempt to spur on a “rebirth” of the US, Trump has imposed a two-tier tariff rate on the island of Ireland – with a 20% tax on exports from the republic but a 10% rate on the UK, including Northern Ireland.
A former EU commissioner has questioned whether Trump thought through his plan’s effect on the peace process brokered by the US almost 30 years ago.
Although it could put Northern Ireland at an advantage over the Republic of Ireland for exports such as whisky and dairy produce, a political problem could arise if the EU retaliates with like-for-like tariffs of 20% on US imports.
Under the Windsor framework, the EU tariffs will apply in Northern Ireland, creating a manufacturing price difference between Northern Ireland and Great Britain for any important components from the US.
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