Ireland is ready to work with the United States to bring "just, lasting and sustainable peace" to Ukraine and the Middle East, the taoiseach (Irish PM) has said.br br The comments come as Micheál Martin presented US President Donald Trump with a bowl of shamrocks in the White House as part of St Patrick's Day celebrations.br br It follows a bilateral meeting between the two leaders where the president raised a "massive" trade imbalance with Ireland and accused the European Union of treating the US "very badly".br br Earlier on Wednesday, the EU announced it will impose counter tariffs on €26bn ($28bn) worth of US goods from next month.br br At the shamrock presentation ceremony on Wednesday evening, Martin referenced the US intervention during in the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and its role in the creation of the Good Friday Agreement.br br "The story of peace in Ireland is one that we wrote together," the taoiseach said.br br "We know that building peace is a difficult and painstaking task but when the mighty United States of America puts its shoulder to the wheel, there is no mountain it cannot move.