Donald Trump has accused Ireland of using tax policies to lure away companies from the US. Speaking in the Oval Office next to the Irish premier Micheal Martin, he criticised Ireland’s use of its tax system to attract pharmaceutical and other companies.

He said: “We do have a massive deficit with Ireland because Ireland was very smart. “They took our pharmaceutical companies away from presidents that didn’t know what they were doing and it’s too bad that happened. When the pharmaceutical companies started to go to Ireland, I would have said that’s okay if you want to go to Ireland, I think that’s great

“But if you want to sell anything into the United States, I’m going to put a 200% tariff on you so you’re never going to be able to sell anything into the United States.”

The billionaire was referring to Dublin’s introduction of a 12.5% corporation tax rate in 1997, leading to major US firms recording substantial revenues in the country.

Mr Martin hailed the US president’s work on “peace initiatives” in Ukraine and the Middle East at several engagements across his Washington, DC itinerary on Wednesday.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said US work on proposals for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine had been a “great success”.

He said: “People are going to Russia right now as we speak and hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia.

“And if we do, I think that would be 80% of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath finished. It’s a bloodbath that is taking place over there.

“On average, 2,000-3000 young people a week are being killed, and that stupid war that would have never happened if I would have been president.”

Mr Martin said: “The war in Ukraine is a devastating war on young people and I think that very simple straightforward narrative is to be commended.

“We all have children, we would be shocked at the prospect of young people losing their lives in that number, be they Ukrainian, be they Russian.”

Mr Trump also hit out at the European Union during his remarks in the White House.

He said: “I got the approvals from Ireland so quickly; they were so professional.

“But I was told something that bothered me. You also have to get approval from the European Union.

“I said: why do I have to go to the European Union to expand a hotel that’s in Ireland?

“They said, well, that’s the way it is. I said: well, shouldn’t that go fast? They said: no, it’ll take at least seven years.”

He also threatened new tariffs on EU car imports, especially German manufacturers.

He said: “We have a problem with the European Union. They don’t take our farm products.

“They don’t take our cars. We take millions of cars. BMWs and Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagens and everything.

“I said to Angela Merkel at the time, ‘Angela, how many Chevrolets do we have in the middle of Munich?’ ‘Why none.’ I’m not happy with the European Union, and we’re going to win that financial battle.”

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