Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he believes that the EU will be in a "fully fledged trade war" with the United States once tariff responses are delivered.

The Taoiseach also believes the European Commission will have a "measured, phased response" to the imposition of a 20% tariff on US imports of EU goods.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme on Friday, Martin said that the EU does have "weapons" but should be "under no illusion" that, once they are deployed, Europe will be in a "fully fledged trade war" with the US.

He also described a "worrying antipathy" towards the EU from the White House as "a big concern" and "problematic" in terms of the potential for deal.

China on Friday announced it would impose an additional 34% tariff on all US goods from 10 April, matching the 34% tariff on Chinese goods announced by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Martin has not been in touch with the White House since the tariff announcement, but European Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič has spoken with the Trump administration.

The Taoiseach added that the leaders of tech and pharmaceutical companies with operations in Ireland had indicated that there will be US-EU negotiations, although "it remains to be seen in terms of the substance of that negotiation, the willingness behind that negotiation to actually strike a deal."

"What is not sustainable is the current situation, economically," he continued. "It will hurt American consumers, it will hurt American businesses, it will hurt the world economy.

"The pain won't be short term, because this is a significant inflationary hit by any yardstick, and in my view, is not tenable or sustainable, so therefore negotiation.

"The European Union wants to engage in negotiation. I mean, the President of Commission [Ursula von der Leyen] said that to me last week, but the European Union is designing countermeasures if negotiations don't succeed or are not concluded in a satisfactory manner."

Martin said that such countermeasures would be "very damaging for all concerned, and described the situation as "uncharted" and "uncertain".

Regarding the impact of tariffs on Ireland, Martin expressed concern about negative sentiment growing and investment decisions being postponed on the country's small, open economy.

The Taoiseach said Europe's response should be strategic and that any retaliatory tariff should not cause harm to sectors where the EU enjoys a trade surplus, such as spirits.

On pharmaceuticals, which avoided tariffs this week, Martin said that leading companies in the sector are in talks with the Trump administration about the supply chain, the cost of medicines to US residents.

In terms of semiconductors, he said Ireland could play a part in helping to reshore manufacturing from Asia as the US currently has a shortfall in skilled workers to fill the jobs Trump wants to repatriate.

"Many of the multinationals we are meeting are still very happy with Ireland, are still saying, 'We're in Ireland for the long haul,'" he said.

"Basically, the big question for us -- we weather this over the next number of years, that's our priority, and can things come back to us in a more stable situation into the future?"

Martin later said that the government could not provide businesses with the same level of support as during the Brexit and Covid crises and that Irish interests would not be as central to the EU response as they were during Brexit negotiations.

"We may need a different approach this time," the Taoiseach said, adding that the government needed to keep resources for investment in water, energy, housing, and public transport.

Photo: Micheál Martin. (Pic: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)