Ireland has climbed up an important international league table. But in this case it might have preferred to stay lower down the rankings. In 2023, according to US data, Ireland was sixth in a list of countries with which the US has a trade deficit in goods, ranked by the dollar amount of the deficit. In 2024 Ireland climbed to fourth, behind China, Mexico and Vietnam – having overtaken Germany and Japan. For a smallish economy, that leaves Ireland exposed as the Trump administration focuses on countries with which the United States has a deficit, seen by the president and...