Trump Trade ‘Uncertainty Means Inaction’ in Dublin’s Office Market

James Mulhall was recently quoted in Bloomberg in relation to the Dublin Office Market and Trumps Trade Tariff’s.

Companies spooked by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs are flying blind in many corners of the globe. The uncertainty has even reached the hunt for office space in Dublin, one of Europe’s biggest multinational hubs.

One American pharmaceutical firm torpedoed a plan in April to sign an office lease for as many as 100 workers in a suburb of the Irish capital, after Trump’s “Liberation Day” roiled markets.

The firm resurrected the deal in May, but with a catch: It only signed for around 5,000 square feet (465 square meters) for up to 40 workers, down from the 15,000 square feet it initially wanted, according to Paul Hipwell, senior director in brokerage Lisney’s office agency.

There’s not much data available yet, although the more hesitant sentiment reported by brokers offers yet another early sign that Trump’s unrelenting trade war is inhibiting economic activity far and wide, as Bloomberg’s Olivia Fletcher reports here.

Under Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, Ireland and other countries in the European Union face the threat that the bloc’s current US border tax of 10% will double to 20% if a deal isn’t reached by July 9.

While office agents reported they were busier in the first few months of the year, “the Trump factor has quietened things down a little in recent weeks,” James Mulhall, managing director at broker Murphy Mulhall, said in a May note. “Uncertainty equals inaction.”

Prospective tenants are taking more time to negotiate leases, according to Declan O’Reilly, an offices director at Knight Frank’s Irish arm.

Meanwhile, Irish manufacturers, builders and architects are seeing a slowdown in industrial property investment decisions, said David Howard, director of the Property Industry Ireland trade association.

The outlook for the Irish office market this year really depends on how tariffs play out, Knight Frank said in a report. Until then, the order of the day for global firms in Ireland is caution.

 

 

Market Monitor/Market Matters