Phil Hogan: 'American companies don't locate in Ireland just for the fact that they love Ireland'
The European Commissioner for Trade insists there is balanced trade between the US and Ireland following comments from Donald Trump about the pharmaceutical industry here.
Earlier this week, President Trump singled out the manufacturing of drugs in Ireland, and said he wanted to bring that whole supply chain back to America.
Ireland is the third-largest exporter of pharmaceuticals in the world, while the top 10 drugs companies have operations here.
EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan has told the Institute of International and European Affairs that US companies are not basing themselves here for the love of the scenery.
He said: "American companies don't locate in Ireland just for the fact that they love Ireland. They do so because they'll make money.
"The company shareholders have to get a dividend for the investments they make. They save €1.7bn in tariffs. The fact they are located in Ireland or in the European Union, that's a significant amount of money.
"The 10 top pharma countries in the world are located in Ireland so they cluster."
In the same interview with Fox News referenced by EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan, US President Trump also insisted said he believed there will be a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year.
