Ireland’s political and economic ties to America cannot be ignored

President Trump’s “liberation day,” with its imposition of arbitrary tariffs on friend and foe alike, ended the post-Cold War era of free trade. In the 80 years following the end of World War II, international commerce not only expanded America’s global reach but also earned the respect and friendship of many people.  

But with his arbitrary tariffs, Trump has alienated and alarmed our friends. 

Ireland is a case in point. As a member of the European Union, Ireland became a flashpoint for Trump’s anger, saying the European Union “treats us very badly.”  

Meeting with Irish prime minister Micheál Martin in March to commemorate Irish American Heritage Month, Trump directed his ire at Ireland’s pharmaceutical industries that account for most of Ireland’s $96.4 billion in U.S. exports. 

Pfizer, Boston Scientific, Abbott and Eli Lilly have their headquarters in Ireland, causing Trump to complain, “This beautiful island of 5 million people has got the entire U.S. pharmaceutical industry in its grasps.” 

In an interview with me, the Irish ambassador to the U.S., Geraldine Byrne Nason, noted that those pharmaceutical companies produce ingredients that go into the final production of their products within the U.S., “making it mutually advantageous for consumers and taxpayers in both jurisdictions.” 

But the economic relationship between Ireland and the U.S. goes far beyond the pharmaceutical industry. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Ireland is the sixth largest source of U.S. direct foreign investment, making it the number one country on a per capita basis for its U.S. investments. Today, more than 700 Irish companies operate in all 50 states.

As Byrne Nason told me, “Over 200,000 Americans lock their front doors and go to a job created by an Irish investor.”

Byrne Nason described Ireland as a small island in the middle of the Atlantic. As a member of the European Union, that small island is strategically located as an entry point into the European market with its 447,000,000 consumers.

But the U.S.-Irish relationship involves far more than economics. As Byrne Nason observes, “Ireland has a forever love affair with the United States.” Yet the current dispute over tariffs is akin to a lover’s quarrel.  

Meeting with the Irish prime minister last month, Trump said he didn’t “want to do anything to hurt Ireland,” but told reporters that “fairness” might force his hand.  

Responding to Trump’s warnings, Byrne Nason says: “We don’t believe tariffs are good for U.S. consumers, U.S. taxpayers, or the U.S. economy. And they’re certainly not good for an open global trading economy such as the one we have in Ireland.” 

The histories of Ireland and the U.S. are woven together into one tightly knit fabric laced with the green of the Emerald Isle.

For example, nine signatories to the Declaration of Independence had Irish roots. When Ireland gained its independence in the early 20th century, the U.S. was among the first to recognize the new nation. And in the 21st century, former President Barack Obama said that you can stand on the corner of 79th Street in Chicago and hear the brogue of every Irish county.

Adding to that fabric’s textures, eight U.S. presidents have visited Ireland in the last 65 years. Each rekindled the American love affair with Ireland.   

In 1963, John F. Kennedy traveled to Ireland, turning out thousands of well-wishers. Byrne Nason told me that visit was “a moment of epiphany for the Irish people” as the country began its debut on the international stage. 

In 1984, Ronald Reagan visited his ancestral village of Ballyporeen, an encounter, Reagan said, gave his “soul a new contentment.”  

In 2011, Obama went to his ancestral home of Moneygall, birthplace of his great-great-great-grandfather Falmouth Kearney.  

A dozen years later, Joe Biden visited the Irish counties of Louth and Mayo, home to his ancestors. When asked how he felt upon returning, Biden said, “It’s like coming home.” 

Today, there are 31.2 million Americans of Irish heritage. While Irish Americans continue to celebrate their ethnicity, many have little understanding of the contemporary country their forebears left behind. 

No longer a land of farmers and fishermen, Ireland has become an economic powerhouse, and this year was an invited observer of the G-20. In July 2026, Ireland will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.  

Declaring March to be Irish American Heritage Month, Trump celebrated the role Irish Americans have played in “our great American story — courageously overcoming adversity and hardship to embolden our culture, enliven our spirit, and fortify our way of life.”  

Trump is right. Irish men and women helped build the United States. 

Today, Irish culture continues to permeate every aspect of American life. In 2023, there were 14 Academy Award nominations for Irish filmmakers and production crews, including the first Irish movie ever nominated. Visual effects studios located in Ireland have worked on Marvel Studios’ WandaVision, Netflix’s” The Irishman” and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” 

Riverdance continues to dazzle American audiences. And the Irish musician Hozier has topped the Billboard music charts.

But while waging his tariff wars on Ireland, the European Union and other nations, Trump should recall the words of another U.S. president who, upon leaving his ancestral homeland, told his fellow Irishmen: “If you ever come to America . . . the word will be ‘céad míle fáilte,’’’ which means ‘100,000 welcomes!’” 

In today’s interdependent and interconnected world, the words of John F. Kennedy should remain a guiding principle of U.S. foreign policy. As an old Irish saying has it, “There is no strength without unity.”

John Kenneth White is a professor emeritus at the Catholic University of America. His latest book is titled “Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism.” He can be reached at johnkennethwhite.com.