It is panic central in the Irish government as President Trump threatens tariffs once again. The Irish Times “Ministers will be briefed on Tuesday on US president Donald Trump’s threat to impose 30 per cent tariffs on goods from the European Union and how Ireland’s focus is to avoid a “full-blown trade war”.
The Cabinet will also be updated on plans for large-scale annual trade missions to key countries as Ireland seeks to diversify markets amid the uncertainty over trade with the US.”
Ah the trade mission. It seems that the Irish government is to take time out of its diary trashing their relations with Israel, which the last time I checked was quite good at producing techy stuff, to fly to Canada to suck up to Mark Carney.
“The first such trip will be to Canada in the autumn when Taoiseach Micheál Martin is set to meet prime minister Mark Carney on a mission that is expected to have several other ministers travelling.” There will be Team Ireland Trade Missions every October in key markets, with potential for Irish exporters, closer political engagement and potential foreign direct investment. Canada has been selected this year; locations considered for future missions include India, China and the United Arab Emirates. Pack the passports.
None of this trade tariff stuff is a good idea. We have until the 1st of August to avoid economic Armageddon as “the EU’s trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic has said Mr Trump’s threatened tariffs would practically “prohibit” the future flow of trade from Europe to the US.” This podcast describes how bad a Trump tariff and any counter tariffs would be on the Irish whiskey and dairy markets. So it’s all bad news.
Tariffs are a bad idea on first principles. President Trump slapping tariffs of up to 30% on goods entering the US market will make those goods more expensive for the US consumer. This will not bring back manufacturing jobs to Detroit. Remember it is the US government who banks that money, some people seem to think that somehow it goes to the US taxpayer. It does not. Tariff wars usually end in disaster.
But I am also perplexed, indeed bamboozled that European governments including Ireland get very angry indeed when the US government imposes a tax on goods crossing a border, but the same governments spend all the livelong day thinking up new and fantastic ways to tax their own voters.
Let’s discuss the Harris Tariff shall we or the Pashchal Penalty or the Martin Tariff. I explained only last week how the Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers and the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe have warned us all that there will be no ‘giveaway budget.’ Do not even think that the government will give away our money that we have in fact have given to them.
Get angry over the Trump Tariffs if you want but I’ll reserve most of my anger over something closer to home, the ridiculous cost of living in Ireland caused in part by the Harris Tariff. I’ll go with the Harris Tariff for now as that man just annoys me so much.
Let’s start with something we can all understand: the humble pint. Did you know that the price of tobacco and alcohol products in Ireland are 205% of the EU average, according to the Eurostat database? Two hundred and five per cent.
Most of that, nearly all of it will be due to some ‘tariff’ the Irish government has whacked on there no doubt ‘for our own good.’ Catholic Ireland may well be dead and gone but you hadn’t reckoned with the demented puritanical, woke, fun police, who do not believe you should able to have a glass of wine with dinner and should you dare smoke (which I don’t recommend) you can do that in the hedgerow by the bins outside the pub or restaurant and with a very expensive cigarette. It makes me want to take up the filthy habit just to spite them.
Speaking of restaurants, Ireland also has the second-highest hotel and restaurant price levels in Europe, second only to Denmark. This country that is so reliant on tourism thinks having the second highest hotel and restaurants in Europe is a good strategy. That will be some kind of Harris Tariff as well, just slapped on there to make us even more miserable. But go on, do tell us more about how bad President Trump is.
Now you may say, Laura, cry me a river with your tales of red wine with dinner, restaurants and hotels, what about my everyday living expenses. Well, they are just as bad. Ireland has the second-highest average household expenditure levels again second only to Denmark. The second highest! Why?
Part of that is down to electricity prices. Just today, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) will tell an Oireachtas committee today that electricity prices in Ireland have not declined to the same extent as in other EU countries and it’s difficult to explain why. I know why – the Eamon Ryan Tariff that is imposed on all of us to appease the Sun Gods.
The Irish government has placed punitive carbon taxes on the Irish people who have the temerity to heat their homes and drive their cars on the small part of the roads that have not been taken up by cycle terrorists and cycle lanes therefore they must be punished.
Never mind that this will have no impact on climate change. Ireland must be shown to be doing our bit even if doing our bit means sitting in a cold house and driving our over taxed cars, to over taxed restaurants. Like the Romans before us, when the Gods demand a sacrifice then a sacrifice must be made and in this case we – the Irish voter and taxpayer – are the sacrifice. Also, if the sacrifice is not made, then the lads who demand the sacrifice will not be able to secure good jobs in the various NGOs and global firms after government. And we can’t have that.
To be clear, this is just the stuff you have to purchase that has been tariffed. What is VAT, but a tariff. In Ireland Value Added Tax, which should be Value Added Tariff is a shocking 23%. Why?
The kicker is that we are purchasing all this overpriced, tariffed goods and services right here in Ireland with income that has already been taxed. You have your income tax and your pay related social insurance tax and the old PAYE, pay as you earn? Pay who – oh the Irish government so they can then pay all the NGOs and fulfil contracts for the IPAS centres. But sure, tell me how bad Donald Trump is again.
I will say again that I am relatively happy to pay taxes for the schools and hospitals and the wages of the nurses and teachers (although I could do without paying for all the abortions but I won’t get into that now) and good infrastructure projects like parks and trains. I am happy to pay for libraries. Things that must be done at a large scale and for the good of the community – I can sally up for those. I’m not an anarchist.
However, when they start with the inheritance tariff and the income tariff and the punishment tariffs on carbon, alcohol and for the right to drink my coffee in the coffee shop (VAT on eating in) then I get angry.
In sum, get angry with The Donald and his Tariff Show. But just remember who really hits you hard with the tariffs, who really turns the screw. That’s the Irish government and you can actually get rid of them. Whereas you don’t get to vote out President Trump.