Pfizer, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, has a big bet on Ireland. Over the past several decades, they’ve invested $7 billion in three plants since the 1960s. It should be noted that the company enjoys a pronounced home-field advantage down in County Cork, with impressive facilities in Ringaskiddy and Carrigaline. Bombastic new threats from the U.S. commerce secretary to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical exports from Ireland have thrown their operations into doubt.
In no uncertain terms, Howard Lutnick, then the U.S. commerce secretary, referred to the corporate tax strategy of the Irish government as a “tax scam.” He even floated the idea of a “big tariff” on drug exports from Ireland. These tariffs would have a catastrophic impact on the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland. The country has a commercial industry base dominated by nine big pharma and large device manufacturers. That field in this region directly hires about 21,500 workers in the pharma and biomedicines arena alone. Moreover, each of these industries supports thousands of indirect jobs.
At the center of this debacle is Pfizer’s aggressive investment strategy in Ireland. On its home turf, the company runs a pharmaceutical plant at Shanbally, near to Carrigaline, and owns a jetty facility in Ringaskiddy. With a wind turbine at their headquarters, this location is emblematic of their commitment to sustainable energy. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2027, according to a large sign at the entrance of the Ringaskiddy facility. This might be an early indicator of thrilling growth to come.
As Pfizer continues to make bold local investments. They have a €1.2 billion expansion in the works for Dublin, slated to be done by 2027. Lutnick’s objection to tariffs is an existential threat to these plans. This will lead to potentially huge economic impacts for communities that depend heavily on the pharmaceutical industry.
We understand the creation of new and different Chapter 90 funding for local leaders’ deep concern the potential fallout from these developments. Jack White, a now Fine Gael councillor, put it bluntly, “Ordinary people are offered extraordinary opportunities. Too often, he said, the community’s dependence on the pharmaceutical industry for jobs across generations was the sole focus of messaging.
The EO has caused panic among local business owners due to fear of job loss and what that would mean. David Collins, a fifth-generation independent grocer in nearby Carrigaline, was worried. He explained, “There is an axe hanging over all of us, and Carrigaline would not be the town it is without pharma. He continued to explain the larger effects. As he put it, “If anything happened to this area, it’d be the end of us—not just financially, but socially.”
John Twomey, a successful local businessman and Indo-American pointed to this dynamic. Now, he crucially cautioned that massive collateral damage would ensue if Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies abandoned their operations. The impacts would be big and widespread. “Half the town would be blown to shreds,” he said in dismay. He was talking about the catastrophic ripple effect of lost jobs for direct employees, not to mention the subcontractors and suppliers who depend on these businesses to put food on their tables.
As debates over these tariffs play out, millions across the Midwest are concerned about their economic futures. One businessman noted that even if Trump attempted to enforce tariffs, he would face considerable resistance from those invested in the local economy. “Meanwhile, it can take 10 years to get this established and in the meantime folks are continuing to develop and sprawl here and expand. Even more important, he noted that it would take 10 years to do the same in the U.S. By that time, Trump will be history – one way or another.