‘Who knew Irish weather would be such a draw?' Lisney boss David Byrne on Europeans joining Trump-averse US buyers for their place in the shade
American house buyers with objections to US President Donald Trump and continental Europeans hunting for cooler holiday homes are helping drive international demand at real estate agent Lisney, says managing director David Byrne.
Byrne says Lisney, one of Ireland's largest privately-owned multidisciplinary property advisory firms, has a list of over 150 Americans seeking homes here. Many of these buyers are looking to cross the Atlantic because they aren't happy with what is happening under Trump's administration.
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The Journal
3 hours ago
- The Journal
Trump hits Brazil and India with hefty tariffs over decisions he doesn't like
LAST UPDATE | 30 Jul THE US PRESIDENT has issued massive blanket tariffs on India and Brazil as Donald Trump falls out with the leaders of two of the largest global economies. Trump this evening announced a 25% tariff and an as-yet unspecified 'penalty' against India in retaliation against it purchasing weapons and energy from Russia. The tariff rate is lower than previously announced, but higher when compared to other Asian countries. India, the world's most populous country, was one of the first major economies to engage the White House in broader trade talks, but negotiations have now collapsed after India's reluctance to fully open its agricultural and other sectors. Speaking this evening, Trump said that while India is a 'friend' of the US, its current tariffs on US exports are 'too high'. He also accused the country of continuing to purchase weapons from Russia, which is continuing its brutal invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement Trump has signalled he intends to tighten US pressure on Moscow to halt fighting in Ukraine and negotiate a peace deal. Yesterday, he gave Russian President Vladimir Putin ten days to change course in Ukraine or face new tariffs. Despite the tariff threat, India said it was committed to continuing negotiations on 'a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement'. Tariffs on Brazil and sanctions on judge Elsewhere today, Trump imposed Brazil with 50% tariffs to pressure the country to stop the trial of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of coup charges. Trump has termed the trial a 'witch hunt'. The US this morning also announced sanctions on a judge overseeing the case against Bolsonaro. The Brazillian government said the American decision was 'arbitrary and unjustifiable'. With reporting by AFP 2025 Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
13 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Can Trump's threatened tariffs make Russia end its war?
First it was 50 days. But that deadline hardly made the Kremlin blink. Then, earlier this week, US President Donald Trump gave Russia a new 10-day deadline to end its three-and-half-year war in Ukraine. It was a simple ultimatum from the US: sign up to a ceasefire agreement by next Friday or face 100% tariffs. A couple of weeks ago, the White House indicated that tariffs on Russia and its trading partners could be as high as 100%. Russian exports of oil and gas account for about 60% of the country's overall exports, according to various estimates. Given that the profits of Russian oil companies are taxed heavily by the Russian state, implementing such high tariffs would deny Russia much-needed revenue for its war in Ukraine. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a Helsinki-based thinktank, Russia has made more than €920bn on exports of fossil fuels since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Oil exports accounted for more than €630bn during that time. The Kremlin ignored Mr Trump's first 50-day ultimatum and has done the same with the new one, simply saying that the US president's comments were "noted". True to form, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not responded directly to Mr Trump's latest ultimatum to end the war. Russia's missile strikes on Ukrainian cities during this week have also indicated that Mr Trump's new deadline has not influenced Russia's war tactics. On Thursday, Russian strikes killed 31 people in Kyiv, including five children, and on Tuesday, Russian airstrikes on a prison and hospital in the Zaporizhzhia region killed 19 people. Russian forces are continuing their slow advance along the front, claiming to have captured Chasiv Yar on Thursday. Chasiv Yar is a strategically important but destroyed town in eastern Ukraine that has been fought over for 16 months. Ukraine denied that the town had been lost. If there are any moves inside the Kremlin towards agreeing a ceasefire deal by next Friday, then its leadership is hiding it very well indeed. During the week, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia had "developed an immunity" to Western sanctions after years of being sanctioned, while other senior officials aired similar views. Many analysts agree that Russia's economy has largely weathered more than three years of Western penalties - actions that included sanctions on Russian banks, freezing their assets and excluding them from using the global system for international payments. The West also set a price cap in late 2022 of $60 per barrel on Russian maritime exports of oil. However, Russia has continued to export its oil to buyers from non-sanctioning countries through its so-called 'shadow fleet'. These are mostly aging tankers with opaque maritime histories, registered in third-party countries to circumvent sanctions. The EU's latest batch of sanctions last month - the 18th so far - aims to make it harder for Russia to transport its oil around the world by lowering the price cap to $47 per barrel and blacklisting more than 100 of the shadow fleet's vessels from docking at ports across the EU. So Mr Trump's threat to impose 100% tariffs on Russia and its trading partners is a novel move to reduce the Kremlin's ability to collect oil revenues and thereby dent its war chest. "If the US comes with secondary sanctions on Russian oil, I can't see a bolder play," Ben McWilliams, an energy expert at the Bruegel thinktank in Brussels, told RTÉ News. "It's playing all their cards and that's trying to exert maximum pressure on Russia through energy," Mr McWilliams added. China buys almost half of all Russian crude oil exports, followed closely by India. Turkey and the EU both account for about 6% each of total Russian oil exports - most Russian crude oil flowing into the EU is bought by Hungary and Slovakia via pipeline. Russia also sells smaller volumes of oil to other markets including Myanmar, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Pakistan and Venezuela. The loss of revenue from those smaller markets is surmountable for Russia. However, a reduction in Chinese or Indian imports of the commodity would deny the Kremlin vital revenue for its war. Last year, China's level of Russian crude oil imports reached a record high of 108 million tonnes, according to data from China's national customs authority. Those imports account for about 20% of all Chinese oil consumption and are estimated to be worth about $62bn in 2024, based on analysis by the Centre of Eastern Studies in Warsaw and MERICS, a Berlin-based thinktank that focuses on China. In April, after the Trump administration imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, Beijing hit back with high 110% tariffs of its own on US goods. A truce has been in place between Washington and Beijing since May, with the US reducing its tariffs to 30% and China to 10%. Statements from senior Chinese officials earlier this week suggest Beijing is unlikely to yield to pressure from Washington to stop buying Russian oil. "China will take energy supply measures that are right for China based on our national interests," Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for China's foreign affairs ministry, told reporters. Tariff wars have no winners. Coercion and pressuring cannot solve problems," he added. India might be more likely to reconsider reducing the amount of Russian oil it buys, if faced with 100% tariffs. On Friday, the US hit India with 25% tariffs on its imported goods - just one of many countries whose goods are to be levied by the US as part of Mr Trump's plan to, as he sees it, address US trade imbalances with other countries. The $60 price cap in late 2022 drove down the price of Russian oil exports, leading India to buy up much larger quantities of the stuff than it did before the war - it now buys more than two million barrels of oil a day from Russia, equivalent to about 2% of the world's total supply. Russian crude oil now accounts for about 35% of India's oil imports. Those purchases were valued at an estimated $50bn last year, according to India's government data, sourced by Reuters. New Delhi's reaction to the 25% levies has been to engage in trade talks. Mr Trump has also threatened to impose additional economic penalties on India for trading with Russia. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week that India's purchase of Russian oil was "a point of irritation" so it looks like the US sees India's heavy reliance on Russian oil as a deal breaker in their overall trade talks. A number of Indian state oil refineries stopped buying Russian oil in the past week, buying more oil from Gulf States instead, an indication that American pressure is working. Reduced oil exports to India would force Russia to find substitute markets to make up for the shortfall. "Russia could still manage to get many barrels to market. You could still imagine small markets, each taking 50,000 barrels or something," Mr McWilliams said. "The question would be, at what price," he added, pointing to the cheaper price that buyers from India and China paid for Russian oil after European demand all but disappeared in 2022. If India and another big economy such as Turkey stop buying Russian oil, then buyers in other markets might have more leverage to offer lower prices for Russian crude, he argued. Turkey is the world's largest importer of Russian oil products such as diesel, heating oil and jet fuel. However, Turkey has also played a key role recently in US efforts to broker a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. Turkish diplomats have mediated three brief face-to-face meetings between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul since May. Unleashing 100% tariffs on Turkey for buying Russian oil would jeopardise Turkey's eagerness to work alongside the US as a mediator. Turkey, a NATO member, is also one of the few countries that Russia views as an acceptable mediator. Mr Trump's threat of 100% tariffs is unlikely to sway Russia to stop its war immediately, nor in the weeks ahead. The Kremlin has been quite clear that it plans to weather new sanctions. Imposing high tariffs on China for trading with Russia could also set off a new, all-out trade war between Beijing and Washington. But tariffs could force India and a number of other smaller economies that buy Russian oil imports to buy elsewhere and that lost revenue would dent the Russian state's war economy in the months ahead. The big unknown factors are whether Mr Trump will follow through on his tariff threats and whether Mr Putin might yet come up with a diplomatic ploy to delay them.
RTÉ News
13 hours ago
- RTÉ News
New AI rules come into force in EU
New rules came into force yesterday requiring makers of artificial intelligence (AI) models to ensure their systems are safe and transparent. The latest phase of the EU's AI Act also means the Government must put structures in place to police the companies providing AI tools. Europe's regulation of AI comes as the US vows to cut red tape for the sector. At the offices of digital agency All human in Dublin, developers are working on a new project for a client - an AI-driven energy price comparison tool. Advances in technology mean the AI chatbot being used in the project has an Irish accent and sounds human. The new AI rules mean it must be made clear to consumers if a realistic voice they are engaging with is in fact an AI chatbot. "With the sophistication of AI, things like artificial voices can be so nuanced that they can convince you it's human," said John Mitchell, CEO of All human. "As a consequence of the AI Act, organisations, brands and providers of services, particularly in a digital context, have to declare what is real and what is not," Mr Mitchell said. The EU AI Act came into force last year and is being implemented on a phased basis with its latest provisions taking effect yesterday. The Act bans artificial intelligence systems considered a clear threat to the safety, livelihoods and rights of people. 'Businesses need to start making their preparations now' There are also rules for AI systems in terms of transparency and safety. Maureen Daly is a Partner specialising in Intellectual Property and AI at law firm Pinsent Masons Ireland. "Businesses need to start making their preparations now," Ms Daly said. "Obviously it relates to the big players like Google and Meta, but also to start-ups and SMEs that have AI systems, they are going to have to comply as well." And there are big fines for companies found to be in breach of the AI rules. "The European Commission has said because they don't have the relevant powers they won't start fining people until 2 August 2026 but that doesn't mean you can just sit on your laurels until then because all of this is going to take time and resources," Ms Daly said. "The fines are quite large, 3% of annual turnover or €15 million if you don't comply," she added. The AI rules that came into force yesterday require EU Member States to prepare for the policing of the act. It means the Irish Government must designate competent authorities and legislate for penalties for infringements. Government has not done enough to prepare for rules - senior fellow Dr Kris Shrishak is a senior fellow with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL). He believes the Government has not done enough to prepare for the AI new rules. "They should have started this process much, much earlier," Dr Shrishak said. "There needs to be an urgency from the Government not only to set up the required governance mechanism for the regulators, but also to provide the resources so that regulators can do their jobs." "Part of that job will be the setting up of sandboxes to help and guide Irish companies, so it's not just about stopping bad AI, it's also about promoting the good uses of AI." "I think the State needs to accelerate what it is doing," he added. The Department of Enterprise said Ireland has met all of its obligations under the act to date and will continue to do so. "A significant body of work is ongoing to support the designated authorities in preparing for implementation of the Act, including workshops, working groups, and facilitated dialogue with the Commission and counterparts in other Member States," a Department spokesperson said. "Resourcing is managed through the estimates process," they added. Trump vows to 'win the AI race' But while Ireland presses ahead with EU regulation, a very different stance is being taken in the US where President Donald Trump has vowed to cut red tape to ensure America "wins the AI race". But is there a danger that regulation will see Ireland, and the EU, fall behind when it comes to innovation? Caroline Dunlea is the Chairperson of Digital Business Ireland (DBI) and believes it is now on member states and the EU to allow the European AI space to grow and evolve. "Bridging the competitiveness gap between ourselves and the likes of the US and China in AI is essential, if we are to stay ahead of the curve in the digital sector and its emerging technologies," Ms Dunlea said. "DBI believes that a balanced attitude to enforcing the Act must be taken to avoid overregulation of the AI space," she added. All human CEO, John Mitchell agrees that a balanced approach is key. "I think there needs to be guardrails," Mr Mitchell said. "I think the EU has got the balance right with a combination of being progressive but also being protective." "In the long term, that is the way to go with AI because it is very unregulated today," he added.
