Northern Ireland exists as a sort of economic hybrid, in which the internal markets of Britain and the European Union ( EU) overlap. That reflects a complicated Brexit divorce settlement intended to preserve the peace after decades of terrorist violence.

Northern Ireland risks becoming “collateral damage” in President Donald Trump’s trade wars despite the UK being hit with a lower tariff than the EU, politicians and business leaders have warned. The prospect of a transatlantic trade battle has reignited Brexit tensions in the UK region because of the potential for Northern Ireland to be caught in the crossfire if the EU imposes counter-tariffs on US goods.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said it was important that any retaliatory EU tariffs on the US did not penalise Northern Ireland.