Ireland and Europe need to diversify from the US market, former ambassador of Ireland to the US Dan Mulhall has said.

Mulhall said that US president Donald Trump “has an affection for tariffs”.

“Even though most economists believe this is not a good idea, it is a genuine belief of his.

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“While the pendulum will swing back to a more moderate direction, it would be foolish to believe that the golden age of the Atlantic economy will be fully restored.

"Diversification for Ireland and for Europe needs, in my view, to be the name of the game from now on,” he said during his keynote speech at the Guild of Agricultural Journalists of Ireland’s Michael Dillon Memorial Lecture on Thursday night.

Economic nationalism

The American – Europe alliance is in decline, the former ambassador said.

“And if you look at the recent meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation in Shenzhen, because there you had China, India and Russia with other countries from that meeting coming together.

“Now they don’t agree on very much, and they are potential enemies and they have very different views on a whole range of things, but they’ve come together.

Diversification for Ireland and for Europe needs, in my view, to be the name of the game from now on

“Whatever emerges in the future is unlikely to be as favourable to Irish interests and the open trading and investment environment since the end of the Cold War.

"We have benefited hugely from the opening up of trade and investment. Now that there is a move towards economic nationalism, that is a threat to Ireland’s national interests.”