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President Trump's decision to increase taxes on imported steel and aluminium has triggered threats of reprisals from the world's other main trading partners including the EU and China. The prospect of a tit-for-tat escalation is worrying for Irish farmers, as the US is neck and neck with China as Ireland's second-largest agri-food export market and the largest destination for EU food and drink.
There are no winners in a trade war
"There are no winners in a trade war," European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan said in a recent interview with the Irish Farmers Journal.
Yet announcements by Canada and Mexico in the past few day offer some sort of a silver lining.
The Canadian department of finance has published a list of products considered for a new 10% tariff including yoghurt, whiskey and a range of beef preparations. "These countermeasures will only apply to goods originating from the US," the department specified, opening a two-week public consultation on the proposed tax hikes.
Mexican cheese threat
Meanwhile, the Mexican department of the economy has said that "various cheeses" were on a similar list being prepared as part of its own retaliation against US tariffs.
Mexico has already increased its imports of European milk powder since tensions with its main supplier, the US, grew after the election of President Trump.
The prospect of replacing some US products on the shelves of its closest trading partners may be a way for Irish exporters of alleviating some of the disruption threatened by restrictions to trade elsewhere.
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