In what it describes as "a rare foray into trade policy," the Ancient Order of Hibernians is speaking out against proposed tariffs on Irish goods offering instead, what it call "a pro-growth alternative."
That alternative, said an AOH release, would be "a U.S.–Ireland Fair Trade & Talent Agreement that supports American jobs, strengthens economic ties, and reflects the deep bond between both nations."
Stated the release: "The AOH, long a defender of Irish American culture, small businesses, and workers, said it was compelled to weigh in after recent comments by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who characterized Ireland as a 'tax scam.'
"The organization strongly rejects that defamatory misrepresentation," the release contended.
“Ireland is not a tax scam,” said AOH Political Education Chair Neil F. Cosgrove.
“It is a forward-looking, pro-business country. President Trump himself acknowledged this in his March 12, 2025, meeting with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, noting, ‘I have great respect for Ireland and what they did, and they should have done just what they did.’
The release went on to say that "the President correctly identified the real issue behind the trade imbalance when he went on to say, ‘But the United States shouldn’t have let it happen.’ Tariffs only punish American small businesses and families today - they don’t fix bad decisions made by past administrations that continue to persist.”
The AOH proposal, according to the release, "outlines a forward-looking alternative rooted in shared values and mutual economic opportunity. Instead of tariffs - which the organization warns would devastate Irish American small businesses such as family-owned pubs, restaurants, importers, and specialty retailers, the AOH calls for."
THE AOH proposes "A U.S.–Ireland Economic Growth Fund to encourage cross-border investment in key sectors like biotech and advanced manufacturing; targeted tax incentives to boost U.S. competitiveness and encourage reshoring without severing ties with key allies; a reciprocal professional visa program to support U.S. industry reinvestment in America by allowing employers to leverage skilled Irish personnel already embedded in their operations—and to help Irish businesses expand into the U.S. market, creating U.S. jobs, more efficiently."
Said Cosgrove: “Trade policy isn’t just ivory tower theory; it’s about real jobs, real families, and real impacts. The Irish and the Irish Diaspora know all too well the cost of economic models that ignore the human element. Ireland is the United States’ most culturally and historically aligned and economically integrated partner within the EU. Smart policy builds bridges on that foundation, not barriers.”
Copies of the full proposal have been forwarded to key members of Congress and Secretary Lutnick, with a call for dialogue over disruption.
The AOH says it hopes "this alternative approach can serve as the basis for smarter, more collaborative U.S.–Ireland trade policy."
The full proposal, Toward a U.S.–Ireland Fair Trade & Talent Agreement, is available at https://aoh.com/TradePolicy
