Gov. Josh Stein Meets Irish Companies in Ireland to Promote North Carolina Investment and Tourism
The North Carolina governor's Dublin-area stops came as U.S. tariff policy reshaped pharmaceutical trade, North Carolina's biggest import from Ireland.
A Direct Flight and a Tariff Wall
Gov. Josh Stein spent part of the week of Aug. 31, 2026, standing inside a Uniphar warehouse near Rathcoole, County Dublin. Uniphar is an Irish medicine distributor founded in 1994, and it now runs operations in North Carolina too[1]. From there, Stein told The Irish Times that about 50 Irish companies employ roughly 7,000 people across his state, in life sciences, medical devices, financial technology, chemicals and farm processing[1].
He also had a simpler pitch: get on a plane. Aer Lingus already flies nonstop from Dublin to Raleigh-Durham, and American Airlines flies nonstop from Dublin to Charlotte[1]. Ireland sends North Carolina about 6,000 visitors a year, making it the sixth-largest European source of tourists to the state, according to Stein[1]. Two direct routes already exist, so turning a Dublin flight into a Blue Ridge Mountains trip is not a hard sell.
None of that happened in a vacuum. Washington rewrote the rules on transatlantic trade twice this year, and pharmaceuticals sit at the center of both changes[6][7]. That's the tension running under this trip: a governor pitching stability to companies whose home government is bracing for whatever Washington does next.
Why a Tariff Makes a Factory Move
A tariff is a tax that applies when a product crosses the border. If a company builds the product inside the country instead, the tariff never touches it. That single mechanism explains a lot of what's happening between Ireland and North Carolina right now[7][15].
On July 1, 2026, a U.S.-EU trade agreement took effect. It caps most goods from the European Union, Ireland included, at an all-inclusive 15% U.S. tariff[6]. "All-inclusive" means 15% is the ceiling, not an extra charge stacked on top of existing duties[6]. Then, on April 2, 2026, a separate action under Section 232, the national-security tariff law that lets a president tax imports without a Congressional vote, set a 100% tariff on patented drugs from most of the world[7]. The European Union got a carve-out: EU-made pharmaceuticals, Irish ones included, stayed at the 15% rate instead[7].
That carve-out is not a side issue for North Carolina. Pharmaceuticals and medicines were the single largest category of goods the state imported in 2025, at 24.2% of the total[3][8]. So when the federal government moves the pharmaceutical tariff rate, it moves the biggest number in North Carolina's trade relationship with Ireland. Irish drugmakers, meanwhile, have every reason to keep expanding U.S. footprints: a plant in North Carolina is protected from whatever tariff rate comes next, no matter which way federal policy swings[7][15].
A Trip With No Price Tag Attached
This was not Stein's first overseas sales trip. He and Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley went to Japan and Taiwan in October 2025, attended the federal SelectUSA investment summit in May 2026, and visited Switzerland and Germany in June 2026[2][10][14]. The state's own press releases describe these trips the way a scoreboard reads: jobs announced, dollars invested, decades of cumulative totals[2][14].
What those releases don't include is a number for what the travel itself costs, or a specific deal that resulted from a specific trip[1][2]. That gap is the real fault line here, and it is a testable one. Supporters of these missions argue that site selection often comes down to a personal relationship, and that a company already operating in North Carolina is more likely to expand there if someone tends that relationship in person. Skeptics counter that trade numbers are driven by tax policy, federal rules and company economics, not by a governor's travel calendar, and that taxpayers deserve to see a cost next to a result.
Carolina Journal, the news arm of the free-market John Locke Foundation, made that skeptical case directly. It reported that tariffs left North Carolina's trade deficit largely unmoved, which implies the state's big trade swings come from forces well outside any governor's control[9]. The outlet doesn't argue against this specific trip. It argues that recruitment travel is salesmanship until a signed project proves otherwise.
A Governor With Few Other Levers
There's a structural reason a Democratic governor keeps boarding planes. Tax rates and the state budget belong to the legislature, and North Carolina's is controlled by Republicans who have also moved to trim the governor's own authority[12]. Overseas recruitment trips, by contrast, are something a governor can do without asking anyone's permission. That makes them one of the few tools left for building a record of wins.
A job announcement is durable political currency, and it's one of the only kinds a governor can generate solo[10][12]. That doesn't mean the trips are hollow. It means they carry a political incentive on top of whatever economic case they make, and both things can be true about the same trip.
The legislature has its own incentive running the other way. Republican lawmakers want credit for the state's business climate to attach to the tax and regulatory policy they wrote, not to executive-branch travel[12]. Any incentive package that comes with a new project also becomes their political property, and their political risk, in the district where it lands.
Ireland's Side of the Bet
Irish coverage of this trip reads differently than the American version. The Irish Times led its story with "US political uncertainty," and reported the interview from inside a company's new facility rather than from a government office[1]. The framing centers what Ireland gains from a reliable American partner, not any dispute back in North Carolina about the value of the trip[1].
That's not spin so much as exposure. Irish exporters, especially in pharmaceuticals and medical devices, depend heavily on a single market: the United States[15]. Building or expanding operations inside that market is a hedge. It puts production inside the tariff wall, so a future tariff increase can't touch it[15]. A state government's tax code, workforce and available land also change more slowly than whoever holds the White House, which makes state-level partnerships a form of insurance against federal swings.
Nationally, North Carolina is not alone in reading the moment this way. Bloomberg Government reported that leaders from nearly a dozen states ran foreign trade missions this year, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has pitched his state as open for business despite what he called Washington's "erratic" moves[4][5]. Governing magazine framed the same trend under the headline "Fearing Trump's Trade Policies, U.S. States and Foreign Countries Grow Closer[5]." Both outlets build a causal claim, that state trips are offsetting federal tariff policy, into their own headlines, ahead of any evidence that a specific deal resulted[4][5].
What the Trip Didn't Settle
The federal picture underneath all of this is still shifting. The Supreme Court struck down the administration's broad, across-the-board tariffs on Feb. 20, 2026. Section 232 tariffs, the sector-specific kind that set the pharmaceutical rate, rest on a different legal authority and remain in force[13][7]. That split is part of the pitch Stein is making: a factory built in North Carolina is protected no matter which way the next court ruling or trade deal goes.
North Carolina exported a record $43.8 billion in goods in 2025 and imported about $102 billion[3][8]. Where Ireland ranks among the state's import sources depends on which dataset you check: Stein described it as third-largest, while one trade database put Ireland first in 2024, at 13.8% of the state's imports[1][8]. Neither figure is wrong. Rankings shift by year and by whether the count includes services.
Neither the governor's office nor state commerce officials had published a travel cost or a newly signed Irish project tied to this specific trip by the time of writing[1][2]. Until one of those numbers shows up, the trip's actual effect on North Carolina's economy will remain a matter of inference, not measurement, for supporters and skeptics alike.
Summary
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein traveled to Ireland this week to pitch his state to Irish companies and Irish travelers. He gave an interview at a new Uniphar facility near Rathcoole, County Dublin[1]. Uniphar is an Irish medicines distributor, founded in 1994, that employs more than 2,000 people at home and also operates in North Carolina[1]. Stein said about 50 Irish companies have operations in his state, employing roughly 7,000 North Carolinians in life sciences, medical devices, financial technology, chemicals and agricultural processing[1].
The trip is one of several. Stein and Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley went to Japan and Taiwan in October 2025, to the federal SelectUSA investment summit in May 2026, and to Switzerland and Germany in June 2026[2][10][14]. It also fits a national pattern. Bloomberg Government reported that leaders from nearly a dozen states ran foreign trade missions this year, in part to cushion their economies against federal tariff policy[4].
The background nobody disputes is that Washington changed the rules this year. The U.S.-EU trade agreement took effect July 1, 2026, and caps most EU-origin goods at an all-inclusive 15% U.S. tariff[6]. "All-inclusive" matters: it means 15% is the ceiling, not a surcharge added on top of existing duties[6]. Separately, a Section 232 action announced April 2, 2026 set 100% tariffs on patented drugs from most of the world, but held EU-made pharmaceuticals — including Irish ones — at 15%[7]. Section 232 is the national-security tariff law; it lets a president tax imports without Congress if an agency finds the imports threaten national security. Pharmaceuticals are North Carolina's largest imported goods category, so that carve-out runs straight through the state's economy[3][8].
The genuine dispute is not whether the trip happened. It is whether a governor flying abroad actually changes investment decisions. Supporters say relationships and in-person pitches decide close calls between competing states. Skeptics on the right, including the free-market Carolina Journal, argue that state trade numbers move on federal policy and company economics, not on visits, and that taxpayers should see the cost and the signed result[9]. Neither the governor's office nor NC Commerce published a cost figure or a specific new Irish project tied to this trip at the time of writing.
The Event
Gov. Josh Stein was in Ireland the week of Aug. 31, 2026, meeting Irish officials and executives to promote North Carolina as a destination for investment and tourism[1]. He spoke to The Irish Times at a new Uniphar facility near Rathcoole, County Dublin[1]. He cited roughly 50 Irish companies operating in North Carolina and about 7,000 jobs at those companies[1]. He also pointed to two direct air links — Aer Lingus between Dublin and Raleigh-Durham, and American Airlines between Dublin and Charlotte — as a base for more Irish tourism[1].
Undisputed Facts
- Stein met Irish officials and business executives in Ireland and gave an interview at a Uniphar facility near Rathcoole, County Dublin[1].
- Stein said about 50 Irish companies operate in North Carolina and employ about 7,000 people there[1].
- Ireland is the sixth-largest European source of visitors to North Carolina, with about 6,000 Irish visitors a year, according to Stein[1].
- Aer Lingus flies Dublin to Raleigh-Durham and American Airlines flies Dublin to Charlotte[1].
- Stein and Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley made earlier overseas missions in October 2025 (Japan and Taiwan) and June 2026 (Switzerland and Germany)[2][10].
- The U.S.-EU trade agreement took effect July 1, 2026 and caps most EU-origin goods at an all-inclusive 15% U.S. tariff[6].
- A Section 232 action announced April 2, 2026 imposed 100% tariffs on patented pharmaceutical products and ingredients, with EU, Japanese, Korean and Swiss pharma held to 15%[7].
- Pharmaceuticals and medicines were the largest single share of goods imported into North Carolina in 2025, at 24.2%[3][8].
The Pressure
Strip away the moralizing and blame. What structural realities persist regardless of which narrative wins?
- Tariff walls reward building inside them
- A tariff taxes goods when they cross the border. Make the product in North Carolina instead of shipping it from Cork, and the tariff never applies. That single fact is why Irish firms expand in U.S. states, and it operates whether or not a governor visits[7][15].
- Governors have few unilateral economic levers
- Tax rates and budgets belong to the legislature. Recruitment travel and site marketing are among the tools a governor can use alone, so overseas missions get outsized use — especially under divided government[12].
- Pharma is the hinge of this specific relationship
- Pharmaceuticals and medicines were 24.2% of North Carolina's goods imports in 2025, the largest single share, and Irish pharma is a big part of that flow[3][8]. Any federal change to drug tariffs hits this trade line first.
- Attribution in economic development is nearly untestable
- Companies rarely say a governor's handshake decided a site. So both the credit-claiming and the debunking rest on inference, not on a measurable counterfactual.
Material realityNorth Carolina exported a record $43.8 billion in goods in 2025 and imported about $102 billion[3][8]. Ireland is a top import source for the state; Stein described it as third-largest, while at least one trade dataset put Ireland first in 2024 at 13.8% of state imports — a discrepancy readers should note, since rankings shift by year and by whether services are counted[1][8]. The drivers underneath are physical: pharmaceutical plants, medical device lines, and two daily nonstop flights between Dublin and North Carolina[1]. The federal rules changed twice this year. The U.S.-EU deal capped most EU goods at 15% on July 1, 2026, and the April 2, 2026 pharmaceutical action set a 100% rate for patented drugs while sparing EU product at 15%[6][7]. Meanwhile the Supreme Court struck down the administration's broad across-the-board tariffs on Feb. 20, 2026, leaving sector-specific tariffs standing under a different law[13]. That legal instability is itself the recruiting pitch: a factory in North Carolina is immune to whichever way the next ruling goes.
Narrative as a weaponThree groups are shaping how this reads. The governor's office wants you to see a state that competes globally on its own merits, so its releases lead with jobs and investment totals and omit trip costs. National state-government press wants you to see governors as a check on federal chaos, which is why headlines use words like "offset" and "fearing" — a framing that flatters both the governors and the outlets covering statehouses. North Carolina's right-leaning press and legislative Republicans want you to see the state's business climate as a product of tax and regulatory policy they wrote, which makes any executive-branch victory lap suspect. Irish coverage wants you to see a reliable American partner, because Ireland's exposure to one U.S. administration is a live national worry. What none of them supply is the number that would settle it: what the trip cost, and what, if anything, was signed.
How Each Side Sees It
Each major actor’s view — how it frames things, its underlying incentive, and how it’s materially affected. Tap a side to read it.
Frames it asTheir case is that site selection is a human business. When two states offer similar land, power and tax terms, the deciding factor is often trust — and a governor who shows up in person builds it. They also argue that existing employers are the best recruiters: a company already running a plant in North Carolina will expand there if the relationship is tended. The tourism pitch is concrete rather than abstract. Two nonstop routes already exist, so the marginal cost of turning a Dublin flight into a Blue Ridge or Outer Banks vacation is low[1]. EDPNC, the public-private body the legislature created in 2014, is the vehicle for exactly this kind of recruitment and tourism promotion[11].
WhyStein is a Democratic governor working with a Republican-controlled legislature that has moved to trim his office's powers[12]. Job announcements are one of the few wins a governor can deliver without legislative consent. They are also durable political currency[10][12].
Impact on themA signed project would be credited to his administration. A trip with no announced deal invites the charge that it was a junket. His office published no cost figure or new Irish project alongside this visit[1][2].
Frames it asTheir strongest argument is risk management. Irish exporters, especially in pharmaceuticals and medical devices, are heavily exposed to one market — the United States. Building or expanding U.S. operations puts production inside the tariff wall, so a duty on imports stops being a threat[15]. State-level partnerships are also insurance against federal swings: administrations change every four years, but a state's tax code, workforce pipeline and site inventory move slowly. Ireland's pitch is that its firms are already employers of Americans, not just sellers to them[1].
WhyIreland wants to keep U.S. market access and stay ahead of any future tightening of the pharmaceutical carve-out[7][15].
Impact on themThe EU deal caps Irish goods at 15% and, from Sept. 1, 2026, moves EU generic drugs and their ingredients to most-favored-nation treatment, typically 0%[6]. That is real relief, but it was granted by Washington and can be revisited by Washington.
Frames it asTheir argument is about proof, not hostility to trade. Carolina Journal, the news service of the free-market John Locke Foundation, reported that tariffs left North Carolina's trade deficit largely unmoved — the point being that big trade numbers are driven by federal policy and company economics, not by a governor's itinerary[9]. From that view, the honest test of a mission is a signed project with a jobs number and a capital figure, disclosed against the trip's cost. They would also note that North Carolina's investment appeal rests on things the legislature controls: tax rates, regulation and the community college system.
WhyThe Republican majority has been narrowing the governor's authority and wants credit for the state's business climate to attach to its own policy record, not to the executive branch[12].
Impact on themLegislators share in any jobs announcement in their districts. They also carry the political cost if incentive packages come due without the promised hiring.
Frames it asThe administration's case is that tariffs are the leverage that produced the deals. It argues the 15% EU ceiling and the pharmaceutical carve-outs exist because the threat of a 100% duty was credible[7]. On this view, states benefit from firms moving production onshore, and governors touring Europe are harvesting a shift federal pressure created. The administration has also pushed foreign investment directly through the federal SelectUSA summit, which Stein himself attended in May 2026[14].
WhyTo show that pressure works and that manufacturing is returning to U.S. soil[13].
Impact on themThe policy is unsettled. The Supreme Court struck down Trump's broad across-the-board tariffs on Feb. 20, 2026, while Section 232 sectoral tariffs — a different legal authority — remain in force[13][7]. That split is why companies hedge with physical U.S. operations.
Like this article?
The Bias Ledger average rating 4
The same story, as framed by outlets across the spectrum, ordered least to most biased. The bias score (1 = straight, 10 = heavily spun) is an AI assessment of that framing — click an outlet to see its track record. The tell is the word choice or omission that reveals the angle.
| Outlet | Vantage | Bias | How they frame it | The tell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WRAL | U.S. center, North Carolina local broadcast | 2 | "Top NC leaders travel to Taiwan, Japan to bolster business ties" | Plain and event-anchored, with "bolster" borrowed from the trip's stated purpose. Coverage of the missions runs separately from its coverage of the legislature clipping Stein's powers, so readers rarely see the two in one frame. |
| The Irish Times | Irish center-liberal | 3 | "North Carolina governor seeks to strengthen Irish links amid US political uncertainty" | "Amid US political uncertainty" is the paper's frame, not a Stein quote in the headline. The piece centers what Ireland stands to gain and does not include any North Carolina critic of the trip. |
| Bloomberg Government | U.S. center, subscription policy trade press | 4 | "Governors Use Foreign Trade Missions to Offset Trump Tariffs" | The verb "offset" builds the causal claim into the headline. It presents the missions as a working countermeasure before showing evidence that any deal resulted. |
| Carolina Journal | U.S. right; news service of the free-market John Locke Foundation, which self-describes as nonpartisan | 4 | "Tariffs leave NC's trade deficit largely unmoved" | Frames state trade outcomes as driven by structural forces, which quietly deflates the case that any governor's travel moves the numbers. The outlet's "non-partisan" self-label sits alongside an explicit limited-government editorial mission. |
| Governing | U.S. center-left, state and local government trade press | 5 | "Fearing Trump's Trade Policies, U.S. States and Foreign Countries Grow Closer" | Leading with "fearing" assigns an emotional motive to states as a group. It frames a routine recruitment practice — governors have run trade missions for decades — as a reaction to one president. |
| North Carolina Office of the Governor | U.S. state government, Democratic administration — official communications, not journalism | 6 | "Governor Stein, Secretary Lilley Showcase the North Carolina Advantage in Europe" | "Showcase" and "the North Carolina Advantage" are marketing terms presented as description. Releases list jobs and investment totals from past decades of projects, but never the cost of the travel or a deal attributable to a specific trip. |
References
- North Carolina governor seeks to strengthen Irish links amid US political uncertainty — The Irish Times · Irish center-liberal daily, privately held trust ownership
- Governor Stein, Secretary Lilley Showcase the North Carolina Advantage in Europe — North Carolina Office of the Governor · State government communications, Democratic administration
- How Important is International Trade to North Carolina? — North Carolina Department of Commerce · State government agency data
- Governors Use Foreign Trade Missions to Offset Trump Tariffs — Bloomberg Government · U.S. center; subscription policy service owned by Bloomberg LP
- Fearing Trump's Trade Policies, U.S. States and Foreign Countries Grow Closer — Governing · U.S. center-left state and local government trade publication
- EU Tariff Rate 2026: 15% Deal Live as of July 1 — TariffsTool · Commercial trade-compliance vendor; sells tariff calculation software
- President Trump unveils sweeping new pharmaceutical tariffs, reshapes section 232 steel & aluminium regime — PwC Ireland · Big Four accounting and tax advisory firm; client-facing, business-oriented
- North Carolina (USA) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners — Observatory of Economic Complexity · Private data visualization firm built on official U.S. and UN trade datasets
- Tariffs leave NC's trade deficit largely unmoved — Carolina Journal · U.S. right; news arm of the free-market John Locke Foundation, which self-labels nonpartisan
- Top NC leaders travel to Taiwan, Japan to bolster business ties — WRAL · U.S. center; Raleigh broadcaster owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company
- Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina — About — EDPNC · Public-private nonprofit created by the NC General Assembly in 2014; state-contracted recruiter
- NC lawmakers target more of governor's powers, shift charity support — WRAL · U.S. center; Raleigh broadcaster owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company
- Trump's 2026 State of the Union: Foreign Policy Issue Guide — Council on Foreign Relations · U.S. establishment foreign-policy membership organization; donor- and endowment-funded
- Governor Stein Makes the Case to Invest in North Carolina at SelectUSA Investment Summit — North Carolina Office of the Governor · State government communications, Democratic administration
- How exposed is Ireland's pharma industry? — Accountancy Ireland · Journal of Chartered Accountants Ireland; professional-body publication