Joe Lynam

Coming up on today's show, we'll be talking to an Irish company cutting waste in the medical and clean room environment.

And we'll be looking at consumer spending habits and all the markets as usual, including the shock new round of tariffs from Mr. Trump overnight.

You can email us business at newstalk.com.

But first, let's have a look at the main business stories in the newspapers and websites, which we shall do in the superlative company of Kate English, the chief economist with Deloitte.

Good morning, Kate.

Good morning, Joe.

Now, Kate, when my alarm went off at five and I checked my phone, I said, oh, God.

Yeah, he's done it.

He's done it again.

He's applying a 25% tariff on heavy truck imports, a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture, a 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, and, wait for it, a 100% tariff on branded or patented drugs.

Yeah, I dropped a line to the European Commission already this morning.

So I suspect they're going to wake up and be very nervous.

They have their midday presser in Brussels, which is 11 hour time.

I'm sure there'll be plenty of questions for them about that, given the fact that they reassured all of us

that the 15% was a ceiling, that there'd be nothing more on any branch applied in the US.

I would watch the share price, I suspect, of Sanofi of France, Roche in Switzerland, and Bayer in Germany to see what they will do.

Yeah, and I've just in real time received a message from the European Commission saying that we haven't decided what we are going to do this morning yet, whether they announce it at 11 Irish time or put out a statement beforehand, but they will have to put out a statement.

And a lot of people in this country in the pharmaceutical sector, and there are quite a few, will be a little bit nervous, especially also in India where they make a lot of generic products with

which are also branded, they will be a bit nervous as well.

The Indians are already facing a 50% tariff from the Americans.