Ireland is to embark on a diplomatic mission to woo Donald Trump in a bid to avoid the introduction of US tariffs between America and the EU, writes Sarah McGuinness and Brian Mahon.

Simon Harris has repeatedly warned of an incoming “transatlantic trade shock” following Mr Trump’s election victory, and economists have said that if the president follows through on his promises, Ireland faces a “real recession risk”.

But Government officials here will seek to convince the incoming administration in the White House that avoiding tariffs will be mutually beneficial.

A senior source said: “You have to convince President Trump that it [free trade] is good for his voters, the people who put him in the White House.

“One of the cases we will be making is that Irish companies are now creating jobs in every single state in the US.”

A Cabinet memo, seen by BusinessPlus.ie, reveals plans to seek to exploit the “highlevel” interest in Irish issues “among US politicians and officials”.

This includes the “invaluable role” played by US politicians in the North’s peace process.

The memo, which was presented to Cabinet on Wednesday, noted that “regular highlevel political engagement” with the new US administration and with both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, will be a “priority” for the next government.

The memo added: “We don’t believe that placing tariffs on goods would benefit either the EU or the US, and we will work to try to avoid that.”

The document reveals plans to strengthen the EU’s relationship with the US, and “pursue objectives of common interest”.

“This work will require a whole-of-government approach, in which we deploy all political, economic and diplomatic tools available to advance and defend our national interests,” it reads.

Earlier this week, Mr Trump announced that billionaire Howard Lutnick would be his commerce secretary.

Mr Lutnick, CEO of brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald, has already spoken out about what he sees as Ireland’s unfair trading advantage with the US.

Last month, he tweeted: “It’s nonsense that Ireland of all places runs a trade surplus at our expense... When we end this nonsense, America will be a truly be a great country again. You’ll be shocked!”

Yesterday, Taoiseach Mr Harris said the “global outlook” has become “more challenging” since Mr Trump’s re-election earlier this month.

“The memo that I brought to the Government [on Wednesday] noted the conversation that I’d had with President-elect Trump and the changed policy direction of the United States based on President Trump’s policies,” the Fine Gael leader said.

“The memo did note that we are approaching this challenge in a reasonably good economic situation, but it also noted that the global outlook, both from a peace and security point of view and from an economic point of view, is certainly more challenging now than it was even only weeks ago.”

Mr Harris said that he told Cabinet that officials will “now need to prepare for this at a diplomatic level”.

He stressed the need for “really intensive” engagement between the EU and US.

“The US and the EU need each other. Trade is a good thing, but we are going to need to work at an EU level now to make sure that we can engage with the new Trump administration,” the Taoiseach said.

Officials seeking to persuade the Trump administration have noted that Ireland is the seventh largest source of foreign direct investment in the US and the third largest in the EU after the Netherlands and Germany.

Ireland’s investment in the US amounted to $323bn (€308bn) last year and directly supported 100,000 jobs.

US investment in Ireland, by comparison, is long-standing and extensive, supporting 210,000 jobs.

The Government believes Ireland was in a relatively strong position to face the incoming headwinds, thanks to the level of savings built up already and with the economy in a strong position.

However, Dan O’Brien, chief economist of the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), described Mr Trump’s second White House term as a “Brexit-scale challenge”.

He said: “A 40% reduction in trade with the US, as mentioned by the president of the European Commission recently, would have a big negative effect on the Irish economy as it is the most dependent on trade with the US among all 27 EU countries.”

Others have questioned the spending promises set out in the manifestos of Irish political parties across the board, in light of the incoming threat.

Ciarán Casey, an economic historian and assistant professor at University of Limerick, said: “We’re entirely set up to repeat past mis - takes. Our economy is exposed... the tide will go out at some point.”

Photo: Donald Trump (Pic: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)