Micheál Martin is due to visit Donald Trump in the White House on Wednesday morning, as the US has imposed tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports in a move which has provoked an immediate retaliation from the European Union.
Mr Martin will be the first EU leader to visit the Oval Office since the US president and the US vice-president, JD Vance, publicly clashed with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy there last month.
There was nervousness among Irish officials before Wednesday morning’s meeting with Mr Trump on a day which sees the beginning of a trade war between the EU and the United States.
Yesterday, Mr Trump announced that 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports - which are being imposed from Wednesday - would be doubled to 50 per cent for imports from Canada. He later reversed this, leaving them at 25 per cent. He repeated he wanted Canada to join the US as its “cherished 51st state”, a suggestion that has been ridiculed by Canadians.
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With imports of steel and aluminium from Europe among the products hit by Trump’s move, the EU announced its retaliation on Wednesday morning, imposing tariffs on €26 billion of US imports into the EU. The first group of these tariffs will commence on April 1st, leaving a few weeks for possible negotiation.
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Irish anxiety about today’s meeting was heightened by news last night that members of the Burke family – parents and siblings of Enoch Burke, who has been repeatedly jailed for ignoring court orders – were travelling to Washington DC before the St Patrick’s Day engagements today.
Mr Burke and his family have clashed with court authorities after he was suspended by the school where he taught following differences with school management over how to address a transgender student.
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They have disrupted numerous court hearings related to Mr Burke’s dispute with the school. Mr Trump’s ally, the billionaire Elon Musk, has previously tweeted in support of the Burkes.
The Taoiseach will begin the day when he is hosted by Mr Vance for a breakfast meeting at the vice-president’s residence. Mr Martin will then travel to the White House for the meeting with Mr Trump in the Oval Office, which is also expected to be attended by the vice-president.
The White House meeting – preceded by an encounter with the media in the Oval Office, which in Mr Zelenskiy’s case descended into acrimony with Mr Trump and Mr Vance – will be followed by the “Friends of Ireland” lunch on Capitol Hill hosted by Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson. Mr Trump is also due to attend the event.
Later, the two leaders will return to the White House for a reception and the traditional shamrock ceremony.
Irish sources say they will seek to keep the focus on Irish-US relations, rather than being drawn into an argument about the EU. In any case, the bloc’s trade policy is handled by the European Commission, not by national governments.
Mr Martin is expected to stress the mutual benefits of trade between the two countries and level of investment not just by US companies in Ireland but also by Irish companies in the US.
Inevitably, the subject of Mr Trump’s hotel and golf course in Doonbeg, Co Clare, is expected to come up, with some sources saying the Government could indicate its backing for a potential bid by Trump Doonbeg to host the Irish Open golf championship.
Mr Martin is also expected to invite the US president to visit Ireland, perhaps during the Ryder Cup in Adare, Co Limerick, in 2027.
