Irish workers could be placed on reduced hours from as early as this weekend due to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
Danny McCoy, CEO of Ibec, said that companies, including those in the drinks industry, face immediate issues as “their demand is likely to drop quite substantially and their workers will need to go on short time working”.
He made the comments following a meeting of the Government Trade Forum in Government Buildings on Friday, which brought together senior government ministers and business industry representatives to discuss the impact of the tariffs that the US President announced on Wednesday.
A blanket 10 per cent tariff takes effect on Saturday, while the EU-specific 20 per cent tariff takes effect from Wednesday.
Following the Government Trade Forum, Ibec Chief Danny McCoy told reporters that there needed to be “time-bound” supports for employers as some will be affected as soon as this weekend.
He said: “The Taoiseach’s [Micheál Martin] response was that this may be different to Brexit and COVID and that we need a structural change in the economy. I agree with that.
“We were talking about timebound. It's not to put things permanently in place because, in this new world order, we will have to change.
“But there is immediacy for firms this weekend who know that their demand is likely to drop quite substantially and their workers will need to go on short time working.
“Our experiences from both COVID and Brexit was it's much better to have people to remain connected to their employer till this moment passes.”
When asked why there would be such an immediate effect and why someone would be put on short-time work as soon as this weekend, Mr McCoy said that the tariffs coming in on Saturday will have such an immediate knock on.
He said the impact on “fast-moving consumer goods”, like the drinks industry, will be immediate and sales may be impacted.
When Mr McCoy’s comments were put to Tánaiste and Trade Minister Simon Harris, he said, “We are at a moment of great volatility”.
He added: “I don’t want to endeavour to predict. Danny is, perhaps, braver than I am.
“But I think we have to watch this on a very regular basis and continue to engage.”
Sources at the Trade Forum said that there was a very “concerned” atmosphere in the room, and it was clear that businesses and industry were worried about the impact of tariffs.
One Minister told the Irish Mirror that Mr McCoy’s prediction sounded like a “doomsday scenario,” and another suggested they believed jobs being impacted so quickly was “unlikely.”
Several sources said Mr McCoy did not directly raise this at the trade forum meeting, but some stated they can understand why he is concerned.
One Minister added: “We don’t know the challenges yet. There are so many variables.”
Drinks sector sources indicated to the Irish Mirror that it will contact the Government for “sector-specific supports” but that a full analysis of the impact on the industry is still to be determined.
Elsewhere, trade union SIPTU said Government action is needed to protect jobs and production in the food and drinks sector.
They called for measures including wage subsidy programmes, shortened working weeks and support for companies diversifying into other export markets.
Denis Gormalley, SIPTU Sector Organiser, said that products like butter and whiskey “stand to be severely impacted”.
The Irish government also still hopes that President Trump will be willing to negotiate with the EU regarding the impending tariffs.
While US officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt, had said they were not up for negotiation, the US President said that he is willing to talk to countries who offer him something “phenomenal” and that “tariffs give us great power to negotiate”.
He said: “Every country is calling us. That’s the beauty of what we do.
“We put ourselves in the driver’s seat. If we would have asked these countries to do us a favour, they would have said no. Now, they will do anything for us.”
When asked what “phenomenal thing” Ireland and the EU can offer Mr Trump as a bargaining chip, the Tánaiste argued that Ireland already does offer US companies a lot.
He said: “I respectfully say to President Trump we already offer him something phenomenal, which is a country in which many of his companies do extraordinarily well.
“They're not here for the weather. They're here because they're making lots of money. They're having access to a market of 450 million people, more people in this market in the European Union than there is in the United States.”
He added: “I would say, respectfully, politely, diplomatically, I hope, is that the complexity around a lot of these issues is much deeper, perhaps, than is sometimes articulated in press conferences or in headlines.”
Mr Harris said that negotiations need to take place, there needs to be a “degree of give and take,” and that “we'd all be foolish not to take President Trump at his word, whether we agree or disagree.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, meanwhile, said a “sensible landing zone” needs to be found between the EU and the US because the current plans will “do a lot of damage to the world economy”.
He said: “But there is an issue there, without doubt, within the US administration. There is an antipathy that's not disguised towards the European Union. [It is] misplaced, in my view.”
Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers warned against pushing back against the US too forcibly.
However, he once again ruled out introducing cost of living measures as part of the budget, arguing that the Government must “make decisions that are sustainable and can be continued into the long term”.
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