US President-elect Donald Trump has said he will nominate Wall Street CEO Howard Lutnick to lead his trade and tariff strategy as the head of the Commerce Department.
The department has become the US weapon of choice against China’s tech sector.
Worryingly, Lutnick was recently critical of the nature of Ireland’s trade relationship with the US.
“It’s nonsense that Ireland of all places runs a trade surplus at our expense. We don’t make anything here any more – even great American cars are made in Mexico.
“When we end this nonsense, America will be a truly great country again. You’ll be shocked,” he wrote in a post on X in October.
Trump has promised to impose significant tariffs on imports to the US, including 60% on goods coming from China and up to 20% on goods from elsewhere.
Ireland exports significant amounts of goods to the US every year, particularly in areas like pharmaceuticals.
Lutnick, the head of brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald…