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Northern Ireland goods entering the US will face a 10% tariff from Thursday after President Donald Trump imposed a sweeping round of protectionist trade measures.
Companies in Northern Ireland sell goods valued at around £1.5bn to the US every year, with a concentration in pharmaceuticals and industrial machinery.
Northern Irish goods will be covered by the tariff which Trump has imposed on the UK as a whole.
Goods from the Republic of Ireland will be hit with a 20% tariff as part of measures Trump has imposed on the EU.
Among EU countries, Ireland is the most reliant on the US as an export market. In 2024, almost a third of the country’s total exports were to the US – worth €73bn (£61bn).
Tariffs are effectively taxes applied to goods imported from other countries. Governments impose tariffs in the hope of protecting local manufacturers from international competition.
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said: “My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day.”
He added that it will be remembered as the day American industry was “reborn” and the day America was “made wealthy again”.
Michelle O’Neill, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, said she would speak with business and political leaders throughout this period of uncertainty and prioritise “the prosperity and future of everyone who calls our island home”.
Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin said he could see “no justification” for the tariffs, adding that Ireland will reflect with its EU partners on how best to proceed.
Simon Harris, the Irish Deputy Prime Minister, said the 20% tariff “could have a significant effect on Irish investment and the wider economy”.
Roger Pollen, head of the Federation of Small Businesses NI, said the full impact of the tariffs was not yet clear and the situation was “quite extraordinary”.
We shouldn’t expect that exports to the US from Northern Ireland will collapse, because very often when you’re a manufacturer competing on a global stage, you’re not doing that solely on price. What you’re probably likely to see is the volume of goods that might be sold into the US will decline just because they get more expensive.
The tariffs tit-for-tat and Northern Ireland
Gareth Sheridan, chief executive of pharmaceutical firm Nutriband, said the global supply chain could be drastically affected by the tariffs.
Mr Sheridan said a quarter of Americans had “foregone treatment” because of the cost and that could rise by 25%, becoming “an extreme burden on the patient”.
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