NI could be impacted by Donald Trump’s US tariffs

The Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has warned there could be an impact for Northern Ireland in any trade war.

He said the introduction of 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imported in the US on Wednesday was “disappointing”.

Speaking at an NI Bureau breakfast event in Washington DC, Benn said he didn’t want Northern Ireland to be caught in the middle.

He said tariffs were not really in anybody’s interest, and the UK government was working on negotiating a deal with the US.

Benn said he had not had a chance to meet US President Donald Trump yet during his visit to Washington but attended the Speakers’ lunch on Wednesday, where Trump gave an address.

Former US congressman Bruce Morrison said that tariffs would be “bad” for Northern Ireland and could interfere with the Windsor Framework.

The former Democratic politician believes that the Republican Party has “lost its nerve” in supporting Trump in whatever he wants to do.

“I think a lot of what’s going on is a bad idea; these are bad things, but 77m people voted for him, so we need to tolerate it,” he added.

The traditional NI Bureau breakfast is an executive-run event aimed at showcasing Northern Ireland to would-be American investors and celebrating its historical and cultural bonds.

Tariffs are effectively a tax on trade, applied to goods as they enter the country.

The charge is paid by the domestic company that imports the goods, not the foreign company that exports them.

However, the burden can ultimately fall on the exporting firm if it has to cut its prices or finds that it can no longer compete in that market.

They can be used by governments to protect domestic industries by making competing imports more expensive.

Under the post-Brexit deal known as the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland is essentially still inside the EU’s single market for goods and enforces the EU’s customs code.

If tariffs were imposed on the UK they would affect Northern Ireland goods.

But even if the UK avoided US tariffs, the Windsor Framework could have implications for Northern Ireland.

If, for example, the US and EU entered into a tariff war with the EU deciding to put retaliatory tariffs in place, it could lead to a situation where Great Britain is not applying tariffs to US goods, but Northern Ireland is.

Former Trump aide Patrick Wilson told BBC NI’s The View that there was a “tremendous amount of tone deafness by politicians in Northern Ireland”.

In 2018, he was appointed by President Trump to lead the Office of Business Liaison, within the Office of the Secretary at the US Department of Commerce

He is currently Vice President of Government Relations for MediaTek Inc.

“No one in the world is desperate to find out what political leaders in Northern Ireland think about major crises, because they’re not in a position to change it or shape it”, he said.

Sinn Féin’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill announced in February that her party would boycott St Patrick’s Day events at the White House over Trump’s stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Trump’s former aide told The View: “Nobody in Gaza is going to look to these politicians to save them, to house them, to clothe children, to feed hungry people.

“That’s just not what they do. They do have great programs, and I’m not trying to take away from that, but it’s not within their power. And so a lot of it is kind of a lot of words and not a lot of deeds.”

He added that certain parties in Northern Ireland have “aligned themselves with the most sort of grotesque defenders of violence”.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland is to be included in a special international commemoration event at Mount Vernon next year.

It will form a major part of the 250th anniversary of American independence, where immigrants from Northern Ireland played a vital role in the birth of the United States.

Mount Vernon is the former residence of the first US president, George Washington.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said he had a meeting with the America 250 Commission and the granting of “special status” to Northern Ireland for the role they played in the early years of the US was significant.

One notable person from this period was John Dunlap, who printed the first copies of the Declaration of Independence. He was born in Strabane in 1747.

Lyons said the event was important and would put Northern Ireland “front and centre”.

“It’s been about putting Northern Ireland on the world stage and letting people know who we are and what we’re about,” he added.

The communities minister was keen to stress that 17 US presidents had Ulster Scots roots.

“This is significant because the organisers of the party next year, recognise the role that people from Ulster played in the Ulster Scots in particular. We have a big story to tell that hasn’t been told in the past,” he added

The announcement comes after a £750,000 funding boost for the Ulster American Folk Park in County Tyrone.

The project is due to drive an increase in cultural and heritage links with the US.

The announcement was made during a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington DC on Tuesday.

The museum tells the story of the emigration of people from Ulster to North America in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Lyons said: “Our story and the heritage we share with the US is a history worth telling. Our connections, make Northern Ireland, a deeply resonant tourist destination for many Americans wishing to learn more about their Ulster Scots roots.”