Will tariffs make life even more expensive for Irish consumers?
Butter is becoming a luxury item; rents in the Republic have reached an all time high – just two examples of prices that seem to be constantly on the move upwards.
Good news for the hard-pressed consumer is in short supply – even as inflation has reduced to a more sober
2 per cent
.
And to add to the uncertainty, US president Donald Trump on
Friday
said he will impose a 50 per cent tariff on goods from the EU.
In previous years, the government has sought to help households with a range of one-off payments and double allowances, but the mood music coming from Leinster House is that those days are over as the chill winds of changing US tax and tariff policies bite.
READ MORE
Two years ago, it seemed that every second headline and radio discussion was about the
'cost-of-living crisis'
but we don't hear that expression much any more. Are we worn down with ever-rising prices?
On today's In The News podcast Irish Times Consumer Affairs correspondent Conor Pope explains why prices in Ireland are staying stubbornly high and suggests ways people can help themselves. Cliff Taylor looks at the potential impact of tariffs.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Ireland, Switzerland added to US Treasury monitoring list
No major US trading partner manipulated its currency in 2024, the Treasury Department said in the first semi-annual currency report of President Donald Trump's new administration. But the Treasury Department's "monitoring list" of countries warranting close attention grew to nine with the addition of Ireland and Switzerland. While it did not label China a currency manipulator for now despite "depreciation pressure" facing its currency, the yuan, Treasury issued a stern warning to China, saying it "stands out among our major trading partners in its lack of transparency around its exchange rate policies and practices." "This lack of transparency will not preclude Treasury from designating China if available evidence suggests that it is intervening through formal or informal channels to resist (yuan) appreciation in the future," Treasury said in a statement. The US Treasury said China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland were on its monitoring list for extra foreign exchange scrutiny. Countries that meet two of the criteria - a trade surplus with the US of at least $15 billion, a global account surplus above 3% of GDP and persistent, one-way net foreign exchange purchases - are automatically added to the list. Ireland and Switzerland were added due to their large trade and current account surpluses with the US. The Swiss National Bank denied being a currency manipulator, but said it would continue to act in Switzerland's interests as the strong Swiss franc helped push inflation into negative terrain last month. "The SNB does not engage in any manipulation of the Swiss franc," it said. "It does not seek to prevent adjustments in the balance of trade or to gain unfair competitive advantages for the Swiss economy." Trump in his first term labeled China a manipulator in August 2019, a move made then - as now - amid heightened US-China trade tensions. The Treasury Department dropped the designation in January 2020 as Chinese officials arrived in Washington to sign a trade deal with the U.S. The report was released hours after Trump spoke with China's leader Xi Jinping for the first time since returning to the White House amid an even more tense trade standoff between the world's two largest economies, and more recently a battle over critical minerals. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump's January inauguration. The latest report covers the final full year of the administration of Trump's predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, who over his four-year term never labelled any trading partner a currency manipulator but raised similar concerns over China's behaviour and lack of transparency. Last year was marked generally by broad-based dollar strengthening, with the greenback gaining 7% in 2024 against a basket of major trading partners' currencies. That dynamic made it less likely that Treasury would find evidence of consistent one-way actions by countries to weaken their currencies for competitive advantage, since most currencies were broadly weakening anyway, Treasury officials said. That could change over the course of this year, with the dollar already down by roughly 9% since Trump returned to the White House and launched a trade war that has global investors rethinking their commitments to US assets. In the current environment, it might be more tempting for countries to step in to try to prevent or reverse the continued strengthening of their currencies, and Treasury officials said they would be watching closely for such behaviour. In the case of China more specifically, Treasury officials said they were looking at broadening their surveillance to include monitoring of the activities of sovereign wealth and state pension funds for any indication these entities were acting on Beijing's behest in the foreign exchange market.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Appeals court allows Trump to keep National Guard in Los Angeles
A US appeals court on Thursday allowed president Donald Trump to maintain his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles amid protests over stepped-up immigration enforcement, temporarily pausing a lower court ruling that blocked the mobilisation. The Ninth US circuit court of appeals' decision does not mean that the court will ultimately agree with Mr Trump, but it does leave command of the National Guard with the president for now. Earlier on Thursday, San Francisco-based US district judge Charles Breyer found that Mr Trump's deployment of the National Guard was unlawful. Mr Breyer's 36-page ruling had ordered the National Guard to return to the control of California governor Gavin Newsom, who had brought the case. It was a short-lived victory for Mr Newsom, as judge Breyer's order was paused about two and a half hours later. READ MORE Asked for a comment, Mr Newsom's press office referred to the governor's statement after the initial ruling, and noted that the appeals court put a temporary pause on the ruling but did not reverse it. 'I'm confident, on the basis of the review of the 36 pages – absolutely it will stand,' Mr Newsom said of the district judge's order. The three-judge appeals court panel consisted of two judges appointed by Mr Trump in his first term and one judge who was appointed by Democratic president Joe Biden. The panel said it would hold a hearing on Tuesday to consider the merits of judge Breyer's order. The court's action, called an administrative stay, gives the appeals judges additional time to consider the Trump administration's request to block judge Breyer's order while litigation in the case continues. Mr Trump summoned the National Guard on Saturday in response to protests that had broken out over immigration raids, then on Monday ordered the US Marines to support the National Guard. A battalion of 700 US Marines is expected to arrive on Friday, marking an extraordinary use of military forces to support civilian police operations within the United States. The troops have stood guard at a federal detention centre in downtown Los Angeles where many of the protests have taken place in a show of solidarity for immigrants detained inside. The protests so far have been mostly peaceful, punctuated by incidents of violence, and restricted to a few city blocks. The National Guard had also accompanied Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents on operations to detain immigrants. In his ruling, judge Breyer wrote that the presence of the troops in the city was itself inflaming tensions with protesters – a contention made by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, among others – and depriving the state of the ability to use the National Guard for other purposes. Ms Bass on Thursday called on Ice officers to stand down from the intensified series of raids that led to the protests, saying the local economy could be harmed as immigrants stayed home from work and school for fear of being snatched off the streets. 'The peace that we need to have happen needs to begin in Washington, and we need to stop the raids,' Ms Bass told a press conference as supporters flanking her broke out in a chant of 'Stop the raids'. 'Peace begins with Ice leaving Los Angeles,' said Bass, who has imposed a night-time curfew more than 2.5 sq km of downtown Los Angeles. Ms Bass spoke after department of homeland securitysSecretary Kristi Noem said she would 'liberate' Los Angeles at a press conference that was dramatically interrupted when federal agents dragged Democratic US senator Alex Padilla out of the room, forced him to the ground and handcuffed him. The court battle and press conference scuffle underscored the political polarisation generated by Mr Trump's hardline approach to immigration enforcement and expansive use of presidential power. Mr Trump is carrying out a campaign promise to deport immigrants, employing forceful tactics consistent with the norm-breaking political style that got him elected twice. Democrats have said the use of military force was unnecessary and an example of Mr Trump's authoritarianism. Americans are divided over Mr Trump's decision to activate the military. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 48 per cent of respondents agreed with a statement that the president should 'deploy the military to bring order to the streets' when protests turned violent, while 41 per cent disagreed. Between the rulings, Mr Newsom said the National Guard would be redeployed to its previous tasks, including border security, preparing for wildfires and countering drug smuggling. But the Trump administration immediately appealed the judge's order, calling judge Breyer's ruling 'an extraordinary intrusion on the President's constitutional authority as Commander in Chief.' Mr Trump justified the deployment of troops by characterising the protests in Los Angeles as a 'rebellion,' but judge Breyer said in his temporary restraining order that the protests fell far short of that legal standard. 'The Court is troubled by the implication inherent in Defendants' argument that protest against the federal government, a core civil liberty protected by the First Amendment, can justify a finding of rebellion,' judge Breyer wrote. Mr Trump has said if he had not ordered in the National Guard the city would be in flames. – Reuters
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Trump says he may ‘have to force' US interest rate change in attack on Jay Powell
Donald Trump has called Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell a 'numbskull' for not cutting interest rates , saying the White House may 'have to force something' if the US central bank does not reduce borrowing costs. The president on Thursday repeated his calls for the Fed to cut borrowing costs by a full percentage point – a measure Trump said would save the US hundreds of billions of dollars a year on its debt. 'We are going to spend $600 billion (€520 billion) a year because of one numbskull that sits there, [saying] 'I don't see enough reason to cut the rates',' Mr Trump told reporters, referring to Mr Powell, who he has nicknamed 'too late'. The president added: 'I may have to force something.' Mr Trump did not specify what he meant by force – and said he would not fire the Fed chairman ahead of the end of his term in May 2026. READ MORE The president's comments came less than a week before the central bank's June meeting, in which policymakers are expected to hold rates steady. The Fed has this year halted a rate-cutting cycle that began in 2024 over concerns that Trump's trade tariffs could fuel a fresh bout of inflation. At 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent, the Fed's benchmark target range is more than double the main European Central Bank interest rate, following several moves by euro zone rate-setters this year. Mr Powell has repeatedly said the Fed will set rates based on data, rather than Mr Trump's wishes for lower borrowing costs, including at a meeting late last month that was held at the president's request. Mr Trump's repeated attacks on Mr Powell over his reluctance to cut rates this year have sparked speculation that he could speed up the nomination process for Mr Powell's successor. Remarks last Friday from Mr Trump that he could make a decision on a potential successor 'very soon' have led to speculation among some economists that he could nominate a 'shadow Fed chair' in a bid to massage expectations of future rate cuts once his preferred candidate takes charge of the central bank. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who is seen as one of the leading candidates to replace Mr Powell, proposed the idea of creating a shadow Fed chief in an interview in October. Stanford academic and former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, National Economic Council head Kevin Hassett and current Fed governor Christopher Waller are also considered potential candidates for the job. The 'shadow' role could, in theory, move expectations of where interest rates will be years from now, which would – if credible – lead to immediate movements in US borrowing costs. However, Fed-watchers are sceptical on whether a shadow Fed chairman could influence expectations of future rate cuts in an environment of heightened economic uncertainty. 'Markets are not going to defer to an individual who is not yet confirmed as a member of the Fed board, much less the chair,' said Doug Rediker, managing partner at International Capital Strategies. 'If you want to make sure you are upending investor confidence in an already tense treasury market, then make sure you have competing voices on what the Fed is going to do.' He added: 'The earlier Trump names someone, the more opportunity he or she has to say or do something that puts a bullseye on their head and for people to find reasons to oppose them.' – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
