Waterford Sinn Féin TD Conor D. McGuinness has warned that jobs and investment in Waterford’s pharmaceutical sector face a serious risk from new EU-US trade arrangements, as details of the deal remain in short supply and a 15% tariff is now being imposed on EU exports to the US.
While the exact scale of the threat remains uncertain, Deputy McGuinness said the possibility of deeper and broader tariffs—particularly if the Trump administration follows through on its investigation into pharma imports—demands urgent action from Government.
“This is a deeply worrying development for Waterford. A 15% tariff on EU pharma exports would consitute a major blow to Ireland’s trade competitiveness—and the risk of further increases remains very real. Yet the Government has offered no plan, no supports, and no urgency. That failure is indefensible.
“The Taoiseach’s recent comments ruling out State support for businesses affected by these tariffs fly in the face of economic common sense—and have rightly been criticised by IBEC and others. We need urgent supports for the sector, and we need them now.”
“Waterford is home to a strong concentration of pharmaceutical employers, and many Waterford people also work in the sector across the wider region. Pharma has been a key growth sector in recent years. In the first two months of 2025 alone, Ireland exported €10 billion worth of pharmaceutical products per month to the United States.”
Deputy McGuinness said that failure to prepare for this scenario is part of a wider pattern of Government neglect:
“I’ve been raising this issue with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste consistently in the Dáil over the past six months—calling for clarity, for contingency planning, and for regional economic safeguards. But the response has been dismissive and complacent.
“Waterford is at the bottom of the pile when it comes to IDA-arranged visits, job creation, and efforts at economic diversification—and I’ve been highlighting that failure time and again. There is no serious plan to grow alternative sectors or reduce over-reliance on pharma in the region.
“This is a wake-up call. Waterford has been held back by decades of underinvestment in infrastructure—from our airport and port to vital road links like the N24 and N25. The Government must act now, before this turns into another jobs crisis.”
Conor D. McGuinness TD 