While Lucinda Creighton, former Minister of State for European Affairs, says it’s not a scenario she wants to see, if the US hits the EU with larger tariffs, she believes Northern Ireland could see new opportunities, given its “unique” position
And she says that’s regardless of the emerging tariff situation, given Northern Ireland’s position on the world stage under the Windsor Framework.
“I do think that there is a unique position there to be leveraged,” she told Ulster Business.
“[That’s] regardless of what the tariff situation looks like. Under the NI Protocol and Windsor Framework, that different countries would employ different tariffs to the EU… that is something which is going to be a factor in the future of Northern Ireland.
“So many Irish businesses [which have operations] north and south, you could see some of that flipping. It could happen – I’m not advocating for it, but you could see an easier solution for companies as opposed to absorbing those tariffs.”
US President Donald Trump announced a swathe of global tariffs, including an initial 20% on EU goods, and 10% for those coming from the UK. However, the majority of those are currently on hold.
Ms Creighton was in Belfast to launch Vulcan Consulting’s new Belfast office, which will be headed by Conor Houston.
She said Northern Ireland has an opportunity to grow its talent pool, with a focus now on skills rather than tax incentives for foreign direct investm...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]