By Business & Finance 
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Harris TD, discusses the economic relationship that binds the United States and Ireland.
Note: This piece was originally published in Business & Finance annual magazine 2025/26, vol. 62, available to read, with compliments, here.
By Simon Harris TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
When thinking about the relationship between Ireland and the United States of America, many point to shared history, heritage, and the links between people stretching back generations. However, there is another story to tell, the story of the mutually beneficial economic relationship between both countries.
The economic benefits of that relationship flow both ways, creating prosperity and jobs for people on both sides of the Atlantic. The numbers speak for themselves. Ireland is the 5th largest investor into the US, with investment by Irish companies worth some $390 billion.
Our overall economic relationship is valued at more than one trillion euros. In 2024, Ireland was also the single largest source of new foreign direct investment into the United States at just over $30 billion, an unmistakable vote of confidence by Irish enterprise in America’s future.
As Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I see the Ireland – US economic relationship for what it is, a genuine two-way engine of prosperity that reaches into communities in every Irish county and every US state. Irish companies now employ over 200,000 people across the United States, while US firms in Ireland create high-quality jobs, invest in R&D, and anchor global supply chains that serve American and European customers alike.
Our Programme for Government commits us to strengthening this partnership at every level, including working with our European partners to ensure a coordinated approach to the transatlantic relationship, and deepening ties with our Irish-American diaspora. That is not rhetoric, it is a work programme grounded in people-to-people links, shared values and economic interests.
Stability and predictability matter. The EU-US Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair and Balanced Trade, announced in August, sets parameters for managing differences while expanding opportunity. Ireland will work with EU partners to ensure this framework is implemented in a way that safeguards jobs, avoids new frictions for pharma and med-tech supply chains and supports open digital trade. Our approach is anchored in practical cooperation, including secure, diversified supply chains, transparent, rules-based trade and investment that benefits communities on both sides of the Atlantic.
Looking ahead, work is underway on an ambitious new strategy for Ireland’s engagement with the United States that will advance our shared values and interests. It will build on the progress to date and chart our future engagement over the coming years.
This is a moment to be confident and future-focused. Confident, because the relationship is creating real, measurable value for Irish and American families and future-focused as we navigate a more contested global economy with steadiness and ambition. Ireland will do so, advocating for open markets, seeking to partner with the United States on shared challenges and opportunities, and ensuring that this extraordinary relationship continues to deliver good jobs, cutting-edge innovation, and a better quality of life on both sides of the Atlantic.
To borrow the words of President John F. Kennedy during his address to the Dáil – “I sincerely believe that your future is as promising as your past is proud”.
I, too, believe the best years of the Ireland-US economic relationship are yet to come.
Read more:
Interview with Wilbur Ross, former US Secretary of Commerce
Interview with Claire D. Cronin, former United States ambassador to Ireland
