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NEW YORK – As President Donald Trump pushes U.S. multinationals to expand investment at home, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin is pitching Ireland as a leading European hub for American investment while already eyeing another iconic Irish export after Trump’s commitment to lift tariffs on Irish whiskey.
Martin, who has met Trump several times this year, described the president as a “tough” negotiator, recalling Trump had “some choice language” for the Irish leader during their latest discussions. But he also acknowledged Trump’s efforts to encourage more investment in the United States are already having an impact.
“He’s certainly had success,” Martin told FOX Business. “He’s having success in terms of the investments that those companies are now making in the U.S. You can see that.”
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Rather than viewing Trump’s economic agenda as a setback for Ireland, Martin said it had become a catalyst for the country to strengthen its appeal to multinational companies.
“In a way, it makes us more competitive. We’ve analyzed it and said, ‘OK, that’s a new challenge. So how do we double down and make ourselves more competitive? And how do we maintain inward investment?'”
“Competition is a good thing, and he puts down challenges, and we respond and make ourselves fitter and more nimble and agile and that’s the agenda.”
Trump has made encouraging American companies to expand investment at home a central pillar of his America First economic agenda, using tariffs and other trade measures to promote domestic manufacturing and investment. Ireland, which has spent decades attracting major U.S. multinational investment, has been among the countries adapting to those policies.
Why invest in Ireland?
Martin argued Ireland’s appeal extends well beyond its corporate tax policy, pointing to its strengths in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and technology, a highly educated workforce and what he described as a pro-enterprise approach to doing business.
“We’re less bureaucratic, and the mindset in Ireland is, if a company comes into Ireland, our view is, ‘How do we make it happen? If you have problems or challenges, how do we solve them?'” Martin said. “So it’s a pro-enterprise government that seeks to add value to the company’s proposition.”
He said Ireland’s highly educated workforce, strong technology base and among Europe’s highest education participation rates continue to make the country an attractive destination for multinational investment, while agencies such as IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland help attract overseas companies and support Irish businesses expanding internationally.
He also pushed back against the idea that the economic relationship primarily benefits Ireland, arguing investment increasingly flows in both directions.
Martin noted Irish companies employ about 200,000 people in the U.S. while continuing to expand in the American market. According to the Irish government, nearly 800 Irish-owned companies employ more than 200,000 Americans, Irish investment in the U.S. exceeds $390 billion and Ireland is the fifth-largest source of foreign direct investment into the U.S.
“People in the health sector are telling me that the number of Irish companies coming in here with great ideas and expanding into the U.S. market and creating jobs here is growing all the time.”
Martin said U.S. companies frequently lament that Europe is over-regulated and said simplifying those rules has become a key priority during Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.
“We are behind the U.S. in competitiveness. We’re behind China as well,” he said.
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What’s next after whiskey?
Trade has become another focus of Martin’s discussions with Trump, producing what the taoiseach described as one tangible breakthrough after the president publicly committed to lifting tariffs on Irish whiskey.
Martin said officials from both countries are now working through the details after he personally raised the issue with Trump during the president’s visit to Ireland.
“Yeah, I think there’s a bit of work to be done now. But they will follow through on President Trump’s commitment. Officials are now meeting with officials here in the U.S.”
Martin said he argued Irish whiskey should receive the same treatment as Scotch whisky after Trump had already moved to benefit the United Kingdom.
During the president’s visit to his Doonbeg resort in County Clare, Martin said he also mentioned a recent visit to the Tullamore D.E.W. distillery and noted that Irish golfer Shane Lowry — who went on to win the Irish Open at Doonbeg — came from the same town.
“That really concentrated his mind,” Martin said. Trump later presented Lowry with the trophy before announcing to the crowd that he intended to lift tariffs on Irish whiskey. “And I think we appreciate that.”
When asked whether there were other Irish products he hoped could benefit from tariff relief, Martin quickly identified another household name familiar to Americans.
“Kerrygold butter here is a great butter, and it’s hugely appreciated by American consumers. It’s probably one of the best butters in the world,” he said.
Kerrygold is one of the leading butter brands in the U.S. and one of Ireland’s biggest food exports, generating more than $1 billion in U.S. retail sales in 2025, according to its owner, Ornua, underscoring the commercial stakes of any tariff relief.
Martin said the whiskey breakthrough reflected the broader economic relationship between Washington and Dublin.
“There’s a very strong bond between Ireland and the United States… He’s very courteous and facilitative when we visit,” Martin said of Trump.
Martin said he has already invited Trump back to Ireland for next year’s Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, seeing another opportunity to strengthen economic ties between the two countries.
Asked whether another visit could produce another trade breakthrough, Martin smiled.
“You never know.”
