Ahead of St. Patrick’s Day on Monday, the United States and Ireland have been celebrating the close ties between the two countries. But new policies enacted by President Donald Trump could strain that partnership.

Ireland’s prime minister, Micheál Martin, sat down with Trump on Wednesday at the White House. The visit continued a tradition that occurs on or just before St. Patrick’s Day each year to emphasize the long history the two countries share.

“They’re tough people,” Trump said of the Irish. “They’re smart people. And they’re passionate people.”

Úna Ní Bhroiméil, professor emerita at Mary Immaculate College in Ireland, told Spectrum News that “Ireland very much modeled its form of government on what they saw in America.”

This year, trade was top of mind during the discussions. Trump has long bristled at what he sees as unfair trade practices by the European Union, a view that has led the U.S. and the EU to impose new tariffs on each other’s exports.

Ireland, an EU member, is in the president’s crosshairs because it is a top exporter of pharmaceuticals to the U.S.

“Currently, under the WTO (World Trade Organization), pharmaceuticals are exempt,” Bhroiméil said. “I'm not sure how President Trump is actually going to work with the WTO and whether he will accept those exemptions.”

Trump also wants to see Europe pay more for its defense.

Ireland is militarily neutral but has been aiding Ukraine in its war with Russia by taking in refugees and supplying humanitarian aid. And the EU recently said it would boost defense spending by $880 billion.

“The things that Ireland has currently committed to actually spending money on (include) radar systems, for example, in which we are deficient right now (and) in terms of cyber security, in particular, because, of course, this is a very modern form of warfare,” Bhroiméil said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week that 83% of U.S. Agency for International Development programs would be permanently cut. That will result in reductions to Irish aid services.

“They depend on that for famine relief, for HIV, for the prevention of diseases — all of those things that are significant in developing countries,” Bhroiméil said. “I think that the changing of that funding model is very much going to impact on the work they do.”

Despite the new tensions, Trump said the friendship between Ireland and the U.S. is strong and unbreakable. 

Martin said he hopes to welcome Trump back to Ireland, where the president owns a golf course.