US president Donald Trump has said he will remove all tariffs and restrictions on whisky imports in honour of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit to the US.
The US president said he would lift restrictions on Scotland’s ability to work with the state of Kentucky on whisky and bourbon.
The UK government confirmed this applies to all whisky tariffs, including on Irish whiskey.
Industry representatives said distillers would be able to “breathe a little easier during a period of significant pressure on the sector”.
Trump said the Royal visit “got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking”.
The King and Queen spent four days in the US on a state visit hosted by Trump where they visited Washington DC, New York and Virginia before they left on Thursday.
In response to the news, a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said the King sent his “sincere gratitude” to Trump and he “will be raising a dram to the President’s thoughtfulness”.
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney called it “tremendous news for Scotland” and said he was grateful to the King for the key role he played.
Swinney added: “Millions of pounds were being lost every month from the Scottish economy.”
‘Wonderful honour’
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump said the move was “in honour of the King and Queen of the United Kingdom, who have just left the White House, soon headed back to their wonderful country”.
He said the tariffs and restrictions related to “Scotland’s ability to work with the Commonwealth of Kentucky on Whiskey and Bourbon, two very important industries within Scotland and Kentucky”, and noted how the two areas were linked through the use of wooden barrels.
The main customer for Kentucky’s used bourbon barrels is the Scotch industry, which has been importing around £200m-worth each year.
The president added: “The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!
“A wonderful honour to have them both in the USA.”
At a press conference later on Thursday, Trump added: “I just took all the restrictions off, so Scotland and Kentucky can start dealing again.
“And I did it in honour of the King and Queen who just left.”
‘Royal sparkle’
The Scottish and UK governments had both lobbied for the current 10% tariff rate to be reduced or removed on the basis it would benefit both Scottish and US distillers.
Tariffs for exports to the US, introduced under the Trump administration and adding 10% to importers’ costs, hit sales in Scotland’s whisky industry’s biggest export market.
American tariffs on single malts, which were suspended four years ago, were on course to return this spring with a further 25% charge, unless a deal could be done with the Trump administration.
Single malts, which sell at premium prices, are a particularly important part of exports to the US.
Graeme Littlejohn, director of strategy for the Scotch Whisky Association, said they were “delighted”.
“The industry’s been losing around £4m a week in lost exports to the United States - £150m over the course of the last year while tariffs have been in place,” he told BBC Scotland News.
“This is a real boost for the industry and distillers will breathe a sigh of relief now that these tariffs are off.
“It’s really thanks to the huge amount of negotiation that’s been going on over many months, at a very senior level.”
He added: “Perhaps the state visit has been the catalyst for getting this over the line and the King’s added that little bit of royal sparkle to make the deal work.”
UK business and trade secretary Peter Kyle said: “This is great news for our scotch whisky industry, which is worth almost £1bn in exports and supports thousands of jobs across the UK.”
Source: BBC
--Agencies
