US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Tánaiste Simon Harris it was a priority of the Trump administration to address the “trade imbalance” between Ireland and the US when they spoke by phone on Tuesday.
By now it’s known what that means: tariffs.
US president Donald Trump has already talked about a 25 per cent import tax on Europe so that phone call won’t have been a surprise.
Nothing, as yet, is certain; not least the level of import taxes that might be imposed and whether it will be a blanket rate on all goods across the EU.
But what would drastically increased tariffs mean for Ireland?
And is there anything Taoiseach Micheál Martin can say over the bowl of shamrock when he meets Trump in the Oval Office next week that might influence the president?
Irish Times economics columnist Cliff Taylor explains the business of tariffs and why, if Trump carries through on his promise, chaos is coming.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan and Declan Conlon.
You can read Cliff's latest column on US tariffs here