Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Well, the latest tariff threats from the US president are casting a shadow over the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos. European leaders are due to meet now later this week to discuss their response, which could include placing limits on market access for American companies.
Let's discuss now with Michael Lowen, the CEO of IDA Ireland, the government agency charged with attracting foreign direct investment, who joins us from Davos. Michael, good morning. How worried are you about this latest escalation of tensions between the US and Europe?
Good morning Stephen, yes I think the last 48 hours have certainly brought another level of uncertainty for global trade and for international companies.
Chapter 2: What are the implications of US tariff threats on global trade?
Just last week actually I was in the US on the west coast and it's quite clear from an enterprise perspective what they look for is they need global markets, they need global presence and global workforce And that's what they want to do. And of course, when you have maybe some potential changes in terms of tariffs, that can be disruptive. And we've seen that last year.
The first half of last year was quite difficult from an FDI flow perspective. And obviously, decision making became quite delayed during that period. So hopefully, we will see some dialogue over the coming days that can maybe bring more clarity and direction in the future.
In your conversations with those US companies, do you get a sense of frustration that they're unable to plan or make decisions because of the changing policies?
Well, I think the dynamics has probably shifted from I came out of the US and from even on Thursday night to this morning. And so last year, as we know that there was delays in the first half of the year in terms of decision making, that actually moved. I think companies found paths and again, decisions have to be made in order to support innovation, in order to serve markets.
And so I think in some ways it's almost a deja vu back to where we were last April. But I do believe that the resilience of the enterprise base will continue to see their path through because we have, and I think enterprise, have seen the means in which you need to respond in terms of global investment and global flows. And I think that will continue.
It's just that it brings another level of complication and complexity within their business.
We're waiting to see how exactly Europe will choose to respond to this. France wants the EU to consider using the anti-coercion instrument, which could include measures like limiting market access for American companies. How damaging could that be for Ireland, given the large amount of US investment there?
Well, I actually think it would be damaging for the global economy. I think beyond Ireland, of course, certainly it would be an impact in all of our economies across the continent of Europe. Because remember, we have European companies serving global markets. We have US companies serving global markets, including the European markets. So it would actually have an impact in both directions.
And I think what we're advocating for, and I think that's what most people are advocating for, is for dialogue and to get, I suppose, into negotiations and discussions in respect of setting aside the tariffs. I think we have an agreement in place between Europe and the U.S., In our mind, that should be honoured and put into force.
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Chapter 3: How is IDA Ireland responding to US and European tensions?
I think that's correct. But maybe I'll go back to the principles. First of all is that when you have international companies, they are serving international markets. So their markets still exist. Their need for their product and their services still exist. the need for them to innovate and bring their R&D pipelines to fruition, that still is in play.
And indeed, companies are looking to increase their supply chain resilience in terms of decarbonisation and sustainability through their supply chain. All of those elements still exist and are required because companies are future-focused. They're future-focused in terms of growth, they're future-focused in terms of product and services.
and that's where we will have our conversations yes we have to be conscious of the overarching geopolitical environment but ultimately um companies will look will look to the future and look to to actually see how they can continue to trade internationally how they can have the best products and services and indeed the best workforce globally to support their business needs
Are you seeing that companies, though, are having to downplay announcements about foreign direct investment decisions because of the fear of criticism from the Trump administration? You had a record year for attracting foreign direct investment last year. Are companies, though, trying to keep it quiet about some of the investments they're making?
Well, you're correct. We had a record year last year. And I think if you put that in the backdrop of the year that was 2025, it's an outstanding performance to actually deliver a record year from an FDI perspective. And just to put that in context, we had a 36 percent uplift year on year in 2025 across all territories, you know, across all territories, across the globe.
and what really was impactful on that is that maybe i'll just speak to the three areas first of all first-time investments into ireland continue to remain strong so 25 of our other investments are almost 80 investments or first-time investments into ireland the second area was innovation and r d really strong 2.5 billion supported last year through the ida in terms of r d investments
And the third area was a real focus on transformation and upskilling of the workforce. We supported almost 34,000 people in the Irish workforce to be upskilled last year. So we're seeing companies continue to be that future focus. And just on announcements, just last Friday, actually, we had an announcement with Qualcomm actually expanding their operations in England.
in Ireland, and that's on semiconductor design. So yes, investments continues, announcements continues, but I think companies are also very conscious of the world in which we now reside.
How does the year ahead look? Is it going to be a more difficult year?
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