A demand has been made for "urgent steps to protect Northern Ireland's interests" amid fears that the Donald Trump's newly-announced import tariffs could lead to a hardening of the Irish Sea border.

Northern Ireland risks becoming “collateral damage” in President Donald Trump’s trade wars despite the UK being hit with a lower tariff than the EU, politicians and business leaders have warned. The prospect of a transatlantic trade battle has reignited Brexit tensions in the UK region because of the potential for Northern Ireland to be caught in the crossfire if the EU imposes counter-tariffs on US goods.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said it was important that any retaliatory EU tariffs on the US did not penalise Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland risks becoming “collateral damage” in Donald Trump’s trade war because the Brexit deal means it must apply any retaliatory EU tariffs against the US.

Companies in Northern Ireland sell goods valued at around £1.5bn to the US every year, with a concentration in pharmaceuticals and industrial machinery. Northern Irish goods will be covered by the tariff which Trump has imposed on the UK as a whole.

For Scotch whisky makers, the US is its most important overseas market - worth £971 million a year. Anthony Wills runs the Kilchoman distillery on the island of Islay and says he