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“Everybody’s been bugging me” to do it, the Republican president
said. “And I said, ‘On behalf of the United States of America, I
am going to take the tariffs off'" of Irish whiskey.
Irish whiskey currently faces the standard tariff imposed by
Trump on most imports from the European Union, which was reduced
from 15% to 10% in July.
Trump announced in April that he was lifting certain tariffs on
U.K. whiskey, which includes Scotch and spirits made in Northern
Ireland, creating an imbalance with Ireland.
Trump’s surprise announcement was met with loud whistling and
cheers from the crowd of spectators. Details on how soon the
tariff would be lifted were not immediately available.
Chris Swonger, president & CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council
of the United States, called Trump's announcement “another
positive step toward reducing barriers to spirits trade” and
said everyone would benefit from it during the coming holidays.
“As U.S. hospitality businesses enter the critical holiday
season, this action will provide a welcome boost for retailers,
restaurants, consumers and the American economy,” Swonger said.
In May, the Irish Whiskey Association called for the tariffs to
be removed, arguing that such a step would help many U.S.
companies with Irish products in their portfolios and avoid
uncertainty for consumers.
Trump said on April 30 that he gave the United Kingdom a tariff
break on whiskey after King Charles III and Queen Camilla
visited the White House. “The King and Queen got me to do
something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even
asking!” Trump posted on social media.
The Scotch Whisky Association said July 24 that the zero-tariff
policy had come into effect.
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