Harris holds call with ‘tax scam’ critic in US administration
Ireland’s deputy premier has held a phone call with the US Secretary of Commerce.

Ireland’s deputy premier has held a phone call with the US Secretary of Commerce, a major critic of the trade imbalance between the two countries.
Simon Harris described the call with Secretary Howard Lutnick as a “useful opportunity to exchange views”.
Mr Lutnick has previously described Ireland as his favourite “tax scam”.
He has also said on social media that it is “nonsense that Ireland of all places runs a trade surplus at our expense”.
The call came amid heightened anxiety about the impact of an escalating tariff dispute between the EU and US.
There is concern in Ireland that the new US administration’s protectionist approach could pose a risk to an Irish economy which is significantly sustained by long-standing investment from US multinationals.
Speaking on the All-In Podcast last week, Mr Lutnick said: “We’re going to try and fix a whole bunch of these tax scams – Ireland is my favourite.”
He added: “What do they do? Oh, they have all of our (intellectual property) for all our great tech companies and great pharma companies.