AT FIRST GLANCE, Northern Ireland isn’t a place where the tariffs announced by President Donald Trump on April 2nd seem most onerous. As a province of the United Kingdom, it faces a 10% rate on goods exported to America, far less burdensome than that imposed on countries such as Laos (48%), Madagascar (47%) or Vietnam (46%). But in few places will the tariffs’ effects be so complex or contentious. It is a case study in how the tidal wave Mr Trump has unleashed will crash through delicate regional politics.
