Trump taking 'huge amount of interest' in NI as trade war with EU brews, says Little-Pengelly after meeting
US President Donald Trump took “a huge amount of interest in Northern Ireland”, deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly has said.
But she warned there will be “consequences” for the province if a burgeoning trade war with the EU “goes wrong” and impacts on Northern Ireland.
Speaking to the PA news agency outside the US Capitol, Ms Little-Pengelly said: “I had a really good conversation with the president. Of course, we started out discussing Ukraine and the need for a peaceful resolution to that situation.
“But of course, we moved on to talk about Northern Ireland. He showed a huge amount of interest in Northern Ireland, a recognition of Northern Ireland – particularly the golf, it has to be said.
“We talked about the longstanding relationship that the US has had with Northern Ireland has been obviously beneficial to Northern Ireland, but I think mutually beneficial to both jurisdictions.”
Ms Little-Pengelly said there is a “two-way flow” of trade between Northern Ireland and the US and added: “We talked very much about how to continue that constructive relationship moving forward.
She was speaking after politicians from both Northern Ireland and the Republic met the president today (12th).
During that meeting, the president complained of a “massive” trade imbalance between the US and Ireland, stating the Republic is taking advantage of the US.
He accused the Irish government of “taking” US pharmaceutical companies through attractive taxation measures and criticised the EU's ruling that found that Apple owes Ireland billions of euro in taxes.
“There's a massive deficit that we have with Ireland and with other countries too, and we want to sort of even that out as nicely as we can, and we'll work together – but the deficit is massive.”
For the deputy first minister, it’s now important that people in Washington are speaking up for Northern Ireland amid what looks like a deepening trade war.
Asked if she discussed the impact of the ongoing EU-US trade dispute on Northern Ireland with the president, she said: “I think understandably in this type of meeting, you don’t get into the absolute detail of any of that.
“But I have taken the opportunity this week to raise it with a number of people, both politically in terms of up on the Hill – but also with, for example, Lord Mandelson, who is the new UK ambassador to the US.
“I think it’s really important that those key people around DC understand the nuances of this, because it’s of course understandable if Northern Ireland may not be the top of their agenda when they’re talking about the relationship between the US and the EU and what potentially could be a punitive trade war.
“So I want to make sure that the right people know the detail of this and are speaking up for Northern Ireland.”
She added: “For me, this trip has very much been about showing up, standing up and speaking up for Northern Ireland. I do believe that it is right to be here to do that, because this is an important time, and there are consequences for Northern Ireland if this goes wrong.”