President Trump has threatened to increase Mexico’s tariff rate to 30 percent starting Aug. 1, claiming the country hasn’t sufficiently tackled drug cartels.

Ireland is "now at a moment of major economic challenge", Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Simon Harris has said.

The ministers met in Brussels following Trump’s surprise announcement of the hefty tariffs, which could have repercussions for governments, companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.