July 22, 2025 • 8 mins
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 30% tariffs on European Union goods. Brussels says it still wants to negotiate, but it is also reportedly preparing a plan in case of no deal. Could the EU mount a meaningful response? Yes, by targeting US services, where America runs a trade surplus.
The challenge: getting key EU member states to overcome fears of provoking a broader escalation.
Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Transport, Climate, Energy and the Environment for the Republic of Ireland, offers his assessment of the critical trade talks, his nation's importance to the global investing landscape, and Ireland’s sustainable energy plans as its data center installations continue to proliferate. Darragh speaks with Tim Stenovec and Carol Massar on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and
Tim Stenovek on Bloomberg Radio. It is Bloomberg Business Week Daily.
That's Carol Masser. I'm Tim Stenovek.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Yes, you can't.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Get that burger anymore?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Which burger?
Speaker 3 (00:22):
PJ. Clarks?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
No, I think you can still. It's been a while,
but my husband I used to leve to go and
then we've done that where we've made bernees, like leftover
from a night of having steaks and then you make
a burger and you put on a burger. It's really good.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
It sounds great, it's really good. We've had a couple
of weekends of burgers at home.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Try it with some brenes.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
That's like what you do in summer, you know, girlson burgers,
some hot dogs.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yeah, no dogs.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
In the house, all right, not that we embrace dogs.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Hey, let's talk trade, particularly between the US and the
European Union, because euonvoys are set to meet as early
as this week to formulate a plan for measures to
respond to a possible no deal scenario with US President
Donald trum who's tariff negotiating position is seen to have
stiffened ahead of that August first deadline. The overwhelming preference
is to keep negotiations in Washington on track in a
(01:09):
bid for an outcome to the impass ahead of next
month's deadline. We got with us A Darrow O'Brien, Minister
for Transport, Climate and Energy and the Environment for the
Republic of Ireland. He joins us here in the Bloomberg
Interactive Brokers studio.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Welcome, how are you? Thank you. I'm great, great, delighted
to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
We arrived into New York Saturday evening, so doing a
bit of work down at the UN today on the
sustainable Development goals, so gave the national statement on that
the pleasures drop into Bloomberg today and meeting a lot
of partners, business partners and a lot of bilaterals on
the political side between now and next Wednesday evening before
I fly back to Dublin.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
But I'm over and back to the States a lot.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Well, we're glad you made time for us on this trip.
And we want to talk a little bit about tread
and we'll talked about we'll talk about the UN stuff
in a little bit.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Sure. I'm curious how.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
You're looking at this from the perspective of your country
in the United States as being an important trading partner.
There are so many US businesses, whether they're pharmaceutical companies,
whether they're tech companies, with a large presence in Ireland.
How are you looking at this from your perspective with
trade tensions.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Well, look, I think firstly, our trade negotiation has done
as you know, at an EU level, and obviously we've
big input into that. And I think if you take
a step back the take the EU and US trade,
it's the largest trading relationship in the world and it's
worked well for both and it's been positive. And if
there are imbalances in certain areas that can be certainly
looked at through negotiations.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
So obviously our preference.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Is that there's a negotiated settlement, THEU has to be
ready to respond. We hope that that is not the case.
I think from what I hear from colleagues and who
are directly involved, as well as the negotiations in the
background have been done in a very businesslike and positive way.
Then if I look at Ireland, if we're to look
at our own trading relationship with the United States, is
(02:55):
very much in a partnership basis. Like we've I think
three hundred and fifty million or binion excuse me years
invested by Irish firms in the United States. We're the
sixth biggest investor in the US, employing over two hundred
thousand people. And yes, and we're very fortunate to have
very significant US investment in Ireland. So that relationship is
very what're about a trillion dollars a year between both
(03:18):
the US and Ireland alone, and that relationship underpins tens
of thousands of jobs and both sides of the Atlantic,
good incomes for people, good jobs. And obviously Ireland is
used as an entry into the European Union market, which
is a big market for US firms. So like, we're
delighted we host you know, nine of the top ten
US firms on the tech side our European headquartered in Ireland. Indeed,
(03:43):
you know, if we look at the pharma side, because
our education system is very good, we have the highest
level of third level graduates, we have a flexible workforce,
we have a competitive tax regime, and we're still seeing
that expansion. But I suppose what happens in this space
is a lot of firms are holding off of making
decisions around the uncertainty, and that's why, that's why getting
(04:05):
to a conclusion I think is very important.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
A couple of things we want to touch on dark
So when it comes to the sectoral teriff on pharmaceuticals
in particular, what can Ireland take from the US kind
of what is your landing zone? Is it five percent,
is it ten percent, is it twenty percent? How do
you think about it? Give us?
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Give us well, how I think about it.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Firstly, our Minister for Trade who's our deputy Prime Minister,
actually met with US farmer firms just like in the
last week, and that the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals has actually
done really a lot of our product that comes out
of our and is actually finished in the United States,
so and they sold back into the United States but
finished here. So you know, I think the imposition of
(04:47):
anti tariff on the pharmer sector would not be would
not be welcome.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
And I think that's right.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
The landing zone even well, I suppose I just acutely
aware that I'm not like obviously part of the Irish government.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
That we're briefed as well on the but I think.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
The importance of farma, not just an Ireland but across
the EU and indeed the United States, where we have,
you know, a good trading relationship on pharma. Any change
to that and that cost base is going to have
an impact. So I don't want to sit on a number.
I think really for pharma we were, you know, it
would be better if there were sectors that there were CARVA.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
It's like aviation as.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Well, which is a critically important one too pharma also,
So we just look, I suppose I don't want to
speculate on what that landing zonely look like.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Well, you mentioned aviation, this is a really important one.
You are one of the EU member states most in
favor of a softer response to US tariffs. Yet our
reporting suggests that the EU is preparing to potentially retaliate
with tariffs on Boeing for example, as well as possible
digital services tax that will affect two big industries that
are important to the Irish economy. If the E retaliates,
(05:52):
what will Ireland do to try to protect these industries.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Well, I think what Ireland has done with the EU
colleagues has actually put forward the case for very sectors
about how interconnected we are if you take Boeing, for
argument's sake, and I've met with Boeing, like Ireland is
an Irish aviation firms are the largest customers of Boeing.
I think about nine hundred planes on order with Boeing.
It's you know, we're actually leasing an aircraft leasing is
(06:17):
and you're leasing not just of.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Aircraft but of aircraft parts.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Like of engines, and that there's second handplanes for argument's sake,
that are refirbed that you could look at. They might
be tariff twice. So it's a very very complex sector.
I think, to be fair to the sector here in
the United States as well, have been able to explain
that to colleagues here in the States and also at
a European level, and it is a very big like
(06:40):
Ireland will have the largest footprint of aircraft leasing pretty
much in the world, so we firms like aircraft that
would have a very significant footprint here in the United States.
So it was in their new office in Miami just
earlier this year. So I just think on the aviation side,
I suppose it's when you're looking at tariffs, like our
belief the European Union is parrafts are not a good
(07:00):
thing full stop.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
So if you've got to.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Start from that premise and then you've got to work
back from that to see what's actually what's workable.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
So we want to go where you kicked off. You're
over at the UN we think about sustainable development. At
the same time, there's so much it seems to be
around the globe going on in terms of the development
of data centers. How do we do that in a
way that doesn't just wreak more havoc on our current climate?
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Yeah, I think look we in Ireland, is there.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
A global understanding that we need to do this safely?
Speaker 4 (07:29):
I think to be fair to the sector itself. Like
data and new data is where it's going to be at.
So like the advancements in technologies are here and they
will continue to advance even quicker than any of us
would have ever imagined. If you look at AI for
everything that we do our mobile phone, the screens in
front of us here, you know there's a data capture
and there's data storage there.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
So data centers are here. What we've got to look
at is.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
How they can be more efficiently built and how energy
is more efficiently used. So Ireland has actually been very
successful at attracting data centers in and we want to
continue to do that. There are large energy users though,
so I think what we need to do is to
be looking and fairness to the sector as well as
looking at, you know, the energy they use, what they consume,
how that energy can be reused to waste energy piece
(08:11):
and also linking up renewables. And there is a lot
of interest within not just interests, it's actually there are
proposals within that space. So you would have green technology
parks for argument's sake, so data centers that would have
a base energy but then also would use further energy
for renewables.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
So I think it can be done. I don't think
they conflict with each other.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
You say you're back and forth, come back. I will
love to continue solution. Yeah, thank you. Darryl O'Brien he's
the Minister for Transport, Climate, Energy in the Environment for
the Republic of Ireland. This is Business Week
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and
Tim Stenovek on Bloomberg Radio. It is Bloomberg Business Week Daily.
That's Carol Masser. I'm Tim Stenovek.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Yes, you can't.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Get that burger anymore?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Which burger?
Speaker 3 (00:22):
PJ. Clarks?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
No, I think you can still. It's been a while,
but my husband I used to leve to go and
then we've done that where we've made bernees, like leftover
from a night of having steaks and then you make
a burger and you put on a burger. It's really good.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
It sounds great, it's really good. We've had a couple
of weekends of burgers at home.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Try it with some brenes.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
That's like what you do in summer, you know, girlson burgers,
some hot dogs.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Yeah, no dogs.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
In the house, all right, not that we embrace dogs.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Hey, let's talk trade, particularly between the US and the
European Union, because euonvoys are set to meet as early
as this week to formulate a plan for measures to
respond to a possible no deal scenario with US President
Donald trum who's tariff negotiating position is seen to have
stiffened ahead of that August first deadline. The overwhelming preference
is to keep negotiations in Washington on track in a
(01:09):
bid for an outcome to the impass ahead of next
month's deadline. We got with us A Darrow O'Brien, Minister
for Transport, Climate and Energy and the Environment for the
Republic of Ireland. He joins us here in the Bloomberg
Interactive Brokers studio.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Welcome, how are you? Thank you. I'm great, great, delighted
to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
We arrived into New York Saturday evening, so doing a
bit of work down at the UN today on the
sustainable Development goals, so gave the national statement on that
the pleasures drop into Bloomberg today and meeting a lot
of partners, business partners and a lot of bilaterals on
the political side between now and next Wednesday evening before
I fly back to Dublin.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
But I'm over and back to the States a lot.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Well, we're glad you made time for us on this trip.
And we want to talk a little bit about tread
and we'll talked about we'll talk about the UN stuff
in a little bit.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Sure. I'm curious how.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
You're looking at this from the perspective of your country
in the United States as being an important trading partner.
There are so many US businesses, whether they're pharmaceutical companies,
whether they're tech companies, with a large presence in Ireland.
How are you looking at this from your perspective with
trade tensions.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Well, look, I think firstly, our trade negotiation has done
as you know, at an EU level, and obviously we've
big input into that. And I think if you take
a step back the take the EU and US trade,
it's the largest trading relationship in the world and it's
worked well for both and it's been positive. And if
there are imbalances in certain areas that can be certainly
looked at through negotiations.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
So obviously our preference.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
Is that there's a negotiated settlement, THEU has to be
ready to respond. We hope that that is not the case.
I think from what I hear from colleagues and who
are directly involved, as well as the negotiations in the
background have been done in a very businesslike and positive way.
Then if I look at Ireland, if we're to look
at our own trading relationship with the United States, is
(02:55):
very much in a partnership basis. Like we've I think
three hundred and fifty million or binion excuse me years
invested by Irish firms in the United States. We're the
sixth biggest investor in the US, employing over two hundred
thousand people. And yes, and we're very fortunate to have
very significant US investment in Ireland. So that relationship is
very what're about a trillion dollars a year between both
(03:18):
the US and Ireland alone, and that relationship underpins tens
of thousands of jobs and both sides of the Atlantic,
good incomes for people, good jobs. And obviously Ireland is
used as an entry into the European Union market, which
is a big market for US firms. So like, we're
delighted we host you know, nine of the top ten
US firms on the tech side our European headquartered in Ireland. Indeed,
(03:43):
you know, if we look at the pharma side, because
our education system is very good, we have the highest
level of third level graduates, we have a flexible workforce,
we have a competitive tax regime, and we're still seeing
that expansion. But I suppose what happens in this space
is a lot of firms are holding off of making
decisions around the uncertainty, and that's why, that's why getting
(04:05):
to a conclusion I think is very important.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
A couple of things we want to touch on dark
So when it comes to the sectoral teriff on pharmaceuticals
in particular, what can Ireland take from the US kind
of what is your landing zone? Is it five percent,
is it ten percent, is it twenty percent? How do
you think about it? Give us?
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Give us well, how I think about it.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Firstly, our Minister for Trade who's our deputy Prime Minister,
actually met with US farmer firms just like in the
last week, and that the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals has actually
done really a lot of our product that comes out
of our and is actually finished in the United States,
so and they sold back into the United States but
finished here. So you know, I think the imposition of
(04:47):
anti tariff on the pharmer sector would not be would
not be welcome.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
And I think that's right.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
The landing zone even well, I suppose I just acutely
aware that I'm not like obviously part of the Irish government.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
That we're briefed as well on the but I think.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
The importance of farma, not just an Ireland but across
the EU and indeed the United States, where we have,
you know, a good trading relationship on pharma. Any change
to that and that cost base is going to have
an impact. So I don't want to sit on a number.
I think really for pharma we were, you know, it
would be better if there were sectors that there were CARVA.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
It's like aviation as.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Well, which is a critically important one too pharma also,
So we just look, I suppose I don't want to
speculate on what that landing zonely look like.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Well, you mentioned aviation, this is a really important one.
You are one of the EU member states most in
favor of a softer response to US tariffs. Yet our
reporting suggests that the EU is preparing to potentially retaliate
with tariffs on Boeing for example, as well as possible
digital services tax that will affect two big industries that
are important to the Irish economy. If the E retaliates,
(05:52):
what will Ireland do to try to protect these industries.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Well, I think what Ireland has done with the EU
colleagues has actually put forward the case for very sectors
about how interconnected we are if you take Boeing, for
argument's sake, and I've met with Boeing, like Ireland is
an Irish aviation firms are the largest customers of Boeing.
I think about nine hundred planes on order with Boeing.
It's you know, we're actually leasing an aircraft leasing is
(06:17):
and you're leasing not just of.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Aircraft but of aircraft parts.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Like of engines, and that there's second handplanes for argument's sake,
that are refirbed that you could look at. They might
be tariff twice. So it's a very very complex sector.
I think, to be fair to the sector here in
the United States as well, have been able to explain
that to colleagues here in the States and also at
a European level, and it is a very big like
(06:40):
Ireland will have the largest footprint of aircraft leasing pretty
much in the world, so we firms like aircraft that
would have a very significant footprint here in the United States.
So it was in their new office in Miami just
earlier this year. So I just think on the aviation side,
I suppose it's when you're looking at tariffs, like our
belief the European Union is parrafts are not a good
(07:00):
thing full stop.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
So if you've got to.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Start from that premise and then you've got to work
back from that to see what's actually what's workable.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
So we want to go where you kicked off. You're
over at the UN we think about sustainable development. At
the same time, there's so much it seems to be
around the globe going on in terms of the development
of data centers. How do we do that in a
way that doesn't just wreak more havoc on our current climate?
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Yeah, I think look we in Ireland, is there.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
A global understanding that we need to do this safely?
Speaker 4 (07:29):
I think to be fair to the sector itself. Like
data and new data is where it's going to be at.
So like the advancements in technologies are here and they
will continue to advance even quicker than any of us
would have ever imagined. If you look at AI for
everything that we do our mobile phone, the screens in
front of us here, you know there's a data capture
and there's data storage there.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
So data centers are here. What we've got to look
at is.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
How they can be more efficiently built and how energy
is more efficiently used. So Ireland has actually been very
successful at attracting data centers in and we want to
continue to do that. There are large energy users though,
so I think what we need to do is to
be looking and fairness to the sector as well as
looking at, you know, the energy they use, what they consume,
how that energy can be reused to waste energy piece
(08:11):
and also linking up renewables. And there is a lot
of interest within not just interests, it's actually there are
proposals within that space. So you would have green technology
parks for argument's sake, so data centers that would have
a base energy but then also would use further energy
for renewables.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
So I think it can be done. I don't think
they conflict with each other.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
You say you're back and forth, come back. I will
love to continue solution. Yeah, thank you. Darryl O'Brien he's
the Minister for Transport, Climate, Energy in the Environment for
the Republic of Ireland. This is Business Week
Hosts And Creators
Tim Stenovec
Carol Massar
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.