US will scrap Irish whisky tariff, Trump says

While in Ireland attending a golf tournament at the golf course he owns in Doonbeg in County Clare, US President Donald Trump said the US will repeal a 10 percent tariff on Irish whisky, a duty that currently falls ⁠under those imposed on all European Union wine and spirit exports to the United States.

“Everybody’s been bugging me” to do it, the president said at a trophy ceremony. “And I said, ‘On behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off [Irish whisky].'”

Irish whisky producers have been navigating the tariffs levied by the Trump administration on European Union imports for over a year, as part of the administration’s broader trade and import clampdown.

Trump announced a zero-tariff policy for spirits from the United Kingdom in late April, removing duties on Scotch and Northern Irish whisky following a royal visit from the UK’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

“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 at the time.

The Scotch Whisky Association said July 24 that the zero-tariff policy had come into effect, calling it “welcome news for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic” that would provide “greater confidence to invest, grow exports, and support jobs and communities”.

In May, the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA) also pressed for tariff elimination to shield US spirit portfolios and consumers from market volatility, while buttressing domestic companies handling Irish brands.

In July, the administration dropped an original 15 percent tariff to 10 percent.

The IWA welcomed the announcement and said it would continue to work with its EU and US counterparts to secure a return ‌to the zero-for-zero tariff arrangement for all drinks exports.

“Nothing exemplifies the US-Ireland trade relationship better than Irish Whiskey,” IWA Director Eoin O Caithain said in a statement, adding ‌that ‌the lobby group looked forward to seeing the announcement fully implemented.

Trump’s sudden announcement at the tournament’s close triggered a chorus of whistles and cheers from the crowd of spectators. Details on how soon the tariff would be lifted were not immediately available.