Tanaiste Simon Harris has denied a “trade imbalance” between Ireland and the US was discussed on his call with Marco Rubio, contradicting the statement put out by the US Administration.

Tánaiste Simon Harris and US secretary of state Marco Rubio appeared to be at loggerheads over what exactly was discussed in relation to trade during a phone call between the pair. The impasse came just days before Taoiseach Micheál Martin is due to fly to the US to meet president Donald Trump to mark St Patrick’s Day.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy today, discussing the March 2 leaders’ summit on Ukraine hosted by the UK. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Rubio thanked Lammy for Britain’s efforts to push Europe to take greater responsibility for its own defense and to advocate for peace in Ukraine.

During his meeting with Peter Szijjarto, US secretary of state also emphasizes ensuring long-term regional stability, State Department says - Anadolu Ajansı

We discussed mutually beneficial transatlantic cooperation including Europe significantly stepping up its burden sharing,’ said Jan Lipavsky.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed Russia's war in Ukraine with Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky on Monday as Washington and Europe seek to regroup following U.S. President Donald Trump's clash with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week.