Lawless says government ‘failing’ to protect Mayo businesses from Trump tariffs

MAYO TD Paul Lawless has called for an immediate cut to commercial rates for businesses amid growing concern over the impact of new US tariffs on EU pharmaceutical goods. 

The Aontú TD accused the government of ‘failing to take action to protect Mayo’s economy from the growing threat of US trade tariffs’.

US President Donald Trump is due to announce a raft of new tariffs on EU goods this evening (Wednesday, April 2). This has prompted concern in Mayo over the potential impact on jobs in the pharmaceutical sector. Three companies alone, Baxter, Allergan and Abbvie, employ over 3,000 people in the county. 

“We exported €72 billion worth of goods to the US last year, with €58 billion coming from the pharmaceutical industry. This is not just an abstract economic issue; this is about real jobs in Mayo,” said Deputy Lawless. 

“AbbVie alone employs approximately 1,300 people in Westport, producing pharmaceuticals and is the sole global manufacturing site for Botox. If US trade policy turns against us, what will happen to these jobs? What is the Government doing to safeguard them?”

Deputy Lawless said the government had placed too much emphasis on foreign direct investment (FDI) to the detriment of small businesses. 

“Successive Governments have put all their eggs in the FDI basket while our town centres in Mayo have been left derelict and businesses struggle to survive. High rates, crippling insurance costs, and Government inaction are pushing local businesses to the brink. Our government’s strategy has been to roll out the red carpet for FDI - and rolled down the shutters on our small shops.”

He called on the government to negotiate with America and lobby the EU to try and prevent tariffs from being imposed.

We’ve got to stop acting like grateful tenants and start thinking like owners of our own economy,” he said. 

Westport-based Fine Gael TD Keira Keogh described the looming tariffs as ‘really worrying’, particularly for towns like Westport, where AbbVie employs over 1,300 people.

It is expected that the EU - in which Ireland trades as part of a block of 27 countries - will levy new tariffs on US goods in retaliation to Wednesday’s announcement. The EU has already imposed similar counter-tariffs on American bourbon whiskey following the imposition of US tariffs on EU-manufactured bourbon. 

Mayo TD and Minister of State for Small Business and Retail & Circular Economy, Alan Dillon, said the Táinaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Harris, had engaged with many EU countries that may be affected by the new tariffs. 

Speaking on The Tonight Show on Virgin Media One, the Fine Gael TD said the EU’s response to the new tariffs needed to be ‘sustainable’ and ‘measured’. 

"It's really important that we do have their voices at the table to see if there's any implications to our partners in the north." @Alan_Dillon on potential issues that could arise if the tariffs imposed on the UK differ from those in Ireland.#TonightVMTV pic.twitter.com/jdaYzIrRmr

— TonightVMTV (@TonightVMTV) April 1, 2025