Irish Dairy Industry Calls for Exclusion of US Dairy from EU Tariff Measures
In the face of growing trade tensions between the European Union (EU) and the United States, Irish dairy producers have called on the EU to refrain from imposing retaliatory tariffs on US dairy products. As President Donald Trump plans to announce 20 percent tariffs on a broad range of imports from numerous trading partners, the Irish dairy sector, represented by Dairy Industry Ireland (DII), warns of the potential fallout on unrelated sectors like agri-food.
In their appeal to the European Commission, DII emphasizes that the root of these trade tensions lies primarily in sectors such as steel and aluminium. "If anything, commercial policy measures should be targeted and restricted to sectors at the origin of disputes – steel and aluminium in this case," DII states. Furthermore, DII stresses that any EU response should shield unrelated industries, specifically dairy and special nutrition, from any collateral impact.
Conor Mulvihill, the director of DII, expressed concerns about the ambiguity surrounding Trump's forthcoming announcement, but he firmly believes that including US dairy products on the EU's tariff list would be "counterproductive at the extreme." The Republic's dairy sector, together with Italy's prolific cheese exports to the US valued at €4.4 billion annually, remains significantly vulnerable to reciprocal trade measures.
In light of this, the DII insists that the commission exclude US dairy products from retaliation lists, citing the already minor trade volumes which, if taxed, could provoke further retaliation against EU dairy exports.
Highly reliant on the US market, key Irish agri-food entities such as Glanbia, Kerry Group, and Tirlán maintain substantial operations in the US. Notably, Ornua’s Kerrygold stands as the second-largest butter brand in the US. The financial value of Irish dairy exports to America soared to €681 million, doubling between 2019 and 2023. Any disruption in trade relations could bear significant consequences for Irish producers heavily embedded in the US market.
