Among EU countries, Ireland is the most reliant on the US as an export market.
“We’re not exactly celebrating this, it’s not a case that this is a good thing but it’s probably the least bad option based on what we were facing a couple of days ago, the prospect of a 30% tariff,” Richmond told BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster on Monday.
“The EU is a tough negotiator but this isn’t like any trade deal I have ever experienced before, in my 15 odd years of working on EU trade deals. It is what it is and we move on.”
He added: “We don’t want a tariff war, tariffs are a bad thing. We want stability for businesses and we have that today.”
Trump has wielded tariffs against major US trade partners in a bid to reorder the global economy and trim the American trade deficit.
Von der Leyen has hailed the deal, saying it will bring stability for both allies, who together account for almost a third of global trade.
The EU’s top official described the deal as a “framework” agreement, with further technical details to be negotiated “over the next weeks”.