US Dollar, US Exceptionalism och Irland Drug Dealer
The exceptionalism story peaked at the turn of the year, when the dollar was hugely expensive.
Let’s use a framework from Fathom Consulting of London. World-leading consultancy
There is an obvious global imbalance, with the US borrowing from the rest of the world and leaving everyone else exposed to American stocks and bonds.
Fathom suggests three ways to deal with this:
The creditors (like Germany) can start investing and spending more.
The debtors (the US) can pull in their horns, with tighter fiscal policy and less consumer spending.
Financial flows can do the job; if foreign investors pull money from the US, that brings down US asset values and the dollar, eliminating the imbalance.
The most likely outcome is a combination of all four.
Trump floated tariffs of up to 200% on pharmaceutical imports. Ireland’s large trade surplus with the US is driven by this sector.
The country sold more than $50 billion worth of drugs to America last year, accounting for almost a quarter of all US pharma imports.
John Authers Bloomberg 6 August 2025
A surprising number of major American pharmaceutical companies manufacture drugs in Ireland — and for good reason.
Ireland has become a global hub for pharmaceutical production thanks to:
- **Low corporate tax rate** of 12.5%
- **25% tax credit** on research and development
- A **highly skilled workforce**
- Strategic access to both **EU and US markets**
- Strong government support and infrastructure for life sciences
Here are some of the biggest U.S.-based companies with operations in Ireland:
- **Pfizer** – One of the earliest and largest investors
- **Johnson & Johnson**
- **AbbVie**
- **Amgen**
- **Eli Lilly**
- **Bristol-Myers Squibb**
- **Biogen**
- **Gilead Sciences**
What makes the US truly exceptional? The sustained prosperity of the US is astounding.
Martin Wolf Financial Times 3 December 2024
If the Dollar No Longer Rules the World; global reserve currency
The failure of both risky and supposedly safe assets at once threatened to destabilise the financial system itself.
Is the American Exceptionalism grounded in the holy animal spirit, its dynamism, which underpins innovation and productivity, attracting talent from around the world.
Or maybe having a Reserve currency in combination with vast deficits in trade and budget.
No problem; just print money and the economy will be exceptional.
Englund blogg
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