Comment: Reece Smyth
Working together, US and Ireland will reach trilliondollar trade milestone
THE United States and Ireland are racing forward towards an historic trillion-dollar economic relationship. Opportunity has never been greater for us to grow prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic.
The pace has quickened since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. New figures just released show trade and investment is soaring, doubling in value over the past decade to an estimate of more than $720bn (€619bn). One trillion is now firmly within our sights.
At the US Embassy’s economic conference today, the Taoiseach, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors Kevin Hassett, and senior representatives of our governments and companies will gather to identify strategies for overcoming obstacles and capitalising on opportunities to reach that trillion-dollar milestone.
Our senior leaders will explore the most important topics, such as trade and investment, taxation, cyber-security, and an American view on Brexit.
And whether from Irish or American officials or from the private sector, we coalesce around a simple idea: we succeed together. Whatever the challenges, our strong bilateral relationship allows for open discussions to better understand each other’s policy views and find common ground.
As we race towards a trillion dollars, the two-way street of investment and trade has evolved from a country lane into a modern superhighway that has benefited both of our economies. American companies now employ more than 155,000 Irish workers in high-paying jobs. Ireland is an important gateway into the European Union for many US corporations.
The massive inflow of US investment was the fuel that helped Ireland rebound from the financial crisis to regain its position as the fasting-growing economy in Europe. It is also worth noting that US corporations in 2017 paid more than €4bn, more than half of all the corporate tax collected in Ireland, according to the Irish Revenue Commissioners.
But US investment is only half the story. Ireland, 10 years after the global financial crisis, is the ninth largest source of foreign direct investment to the US, employing more than 100,000 people in all 50 states. Since 2015, the rate of Irish investment in the US has tripled and stands at $147bn. The US Embassy is helping Irish companies, large and small, achieve their goals of expanding into the US market of more than 325 million consumers.
Ireland has unparalleled access at the highest levels of my government and a tremendous amount of bipartisan goodwill in Washington. The United States and Ireland also have many things in common, not least of which are booming economies, a competitive corporate tax, and a robust culture of innovation.
This is an exciting time to do business in America. We reduced our corporate rate to 21pc, which allows your companies operating there to hold more profits to grow your operations. For every new regulation, the Trump administration has removed 22 regulations, which means more opportunities for innovation. In the United States, Irish businesses can find ready access to capital, inexpensive and plentiful energy, and a highly skilled workforce.
Unique to Ireland in Europe, US preclearance facilities in Shannon and Dublin airports have been important drivers of our economic relationship. We plan to expand operations to cover more direct flights to the United States to make it easier for US and Irish businesspeople and tourists to take advantage of every available opportunity.
To ensure continued growth, however, we also must address common challenges. For example, the United States is committed to moving to the administration’s “zero principle”. The goal is zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods to level the playing field for all companies. We hope Ireland will be a partner in helping to achieve this ambitious goal for our mutual benefit.
Taxation can either encourage or destroy economic success. We stand with Ireland in opposing ill-conceived proposals to single out digital companies for additional taxation. As US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in March, “imposing new and redundant tax burdens would inhibit growth and ultimately harm workers and consumers”.
Cyber-security is another joint challenge for both our countries. Cyber threats from state and non-state actors demand our governments and companies work together or risk grave consequences. We applaud the efforts of the Taoiseach to double Ireland’s cyber-security budget and look forward to continuing the highlevel of engagement we have established on this vital issue.
The US government recognises the far-reaching impact of Brexit for the entire island of Ireland – the Good Friday Agreement must not be compromised.
In a nutshell, “racing towards a trillion” is about continuing prosperity and creating good jobs in both Ireland and the US. Working together, I have no doubt we will reach this historic milestone.