Donald Trump the Megathread part II - mod warnings in OP, Updated 18/03/25

Other countries are moving. Israel has removed all tariffs on US imports. Good for them and they get a big advantage over their traditional European competitor for US investment which is Ireland. Other independent countries will follow like the UK.

Meanwhile, because we surrendered our sovereignty over trade to the EU, we are going to be stuck in their protectionist morass with French wine makers and Germany car makers getting precedence over the interests of this country.

I find it stunning that if the US targets exports from Ireland specifically (which they can) that some here appear to believe that

1. It's OK so long as they jump ship to another EU country (we get screwed because 'EU' but that's ok)
2. The notion that Germany or France are going to take an extra hit on behalf of a tiny country they already think is a tax haven out of solidarity. Delusional.

This will end up putting severe strain on the EU because different countries have different economic interests. Our interests and ability to absorb tariffs are not remotely the same as Germany.

If the EU were to equally retaliate on behalf of a handful of countries we are being thrown under the bus because that damages us most again.

That brexit bus is due any day now to run us over ehh?

Ironically, I think you used to (around Brexit time, feels like an eon ago) use increasing globalisation and the restrictions the EU places on our ability to trade goods and services more freely with non members as an argument to leave the EU. Singapore on the Liffey or whatever.

Now that a new age of economic nationalism and imperialism seems to be dawning, argument is it would still be preferable to head off alone and do our own thing because…well we can be a much better doormat & supplicant to the US or perhaps China once we are not part of any opposing large bloc ourselves!

Sure it might be possible for individual members incl. Ireland to get a better "deal" off Trump going it alone and prostrating themselves completely - but it would be a deal with the devil I expect. They do not end well.

I dunno though, maybe the govt. could rock up and tell him + Bannon and the MAGA gang they'll do the necessary amd whip up some nominations to make sure the bould McGregor is free to run in the next Presidential election!

I find it stunning you are trying to peddle an anti EU agenda in the face of all the evidence to the contrary and not even trying to explain how an Ireland outside the EU would be better placed to weather this storm of economic illiteracy from Trump.

Desperate stuff altogether while somehow trying to pin the blame on the EU, Democrats ... anybody but Trump and his MAGA enablers.

You arent fooling anyone with this nonsense. You will drop it and run unable to offer any coherent response, a waste of your own time.

When you cant engage with rebuttals, it is final proof your claims cannot be defended in open debate.

I would expect no less from a guy who thinks it's a good idea to hand Greenland to the US...

It's easier to fool people than it is to convince them they've been fooled.

I wouldn't mind, but the EU's the only game in town as far as political/economic backup for Ireland goes. If anyone thinks Ireland has ever been treated bad by the EU, we can be pretty sure that it would be exponentially worse if Ireland were to strike out on its own in the high seas of international trade.

We could always partner up with the UK, I suppose. Pretty sure that's never worked out badly in the last thousand years of history. You never know - they might even pay to have that statue of Nelson put back up.

so what you’re saying is Americans are going to have a hard time having a hard time?

I was asking myself if it was possible that Trump and Co had forgotten the I.P. angle when they came up with their tariffs plans and sold it to him. While it'll probably be easy to produce the physical-form pharma item in the States, is it going to be easy to transfer the I.P. part needed as part of the pharma manufacturing process if the rights are registered in other legal jurisdictions and not in the US? They may have already thought their way through the process of doing so.

I assume the part where the combining of the different ingredients to create the finished pharma product would essentially be needed to induce the planned do-good effect of the product in the patient/s in the US as well as the original does in Europe, as the ingredients SHOULD be combined together, following the exact same recipe as it were without side effects. Same title, different recipe, a different finished product, should force the US Pharma side of the international Pharma Co's.

I can imagine the Pharma Co's would be thinking "and we thought Kennedy was bad enough for us".

Give it a rest, chicken. You should change your handle to kermit.de.wrong.

The Republicans control Congress and quite a few Democrats would have no problem tightening the required loopholes.

Black men were never gonna vote for a black woman.

Stating facts is not "anti EU". During our whole membership we have lived through a time of free and open markets with the US.

Now the US is going protectionist it will have profound effects on Europe. We are entering a time when national self interest in Europe once again will be to the fore. I don't know how that is going to play in an EU context as you don't but it is guaranteed to lead to tensions.

The reason is simple. Our economic interest are not the same as those of Germany just like Portugal's are not the same as those of France.

This is why the single market is ultimately unsustainable. National self interest will always win when push comes to shove for political and economic reasons.

And I am entitled to that opinion btw just as you are to disagree.

The EU is neither benevolent nor malevolent. It does what’s in its best interest at all times. This usually means what’s in France and mainly Germanys best interest but that’s no different to any federation where there’s always dominant cores. They had our back post Brexit as the future of the union was at stake and I believe they saw us as a good chance to get back at the gammons.
They didn’t respect our vote on lisbon or nice and the commission that enact laws are unelected . In a few years they’ll have an army too. We have some tough choices in Ireland ahead of us in the next decade I fear.