WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday he is removing certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after this week’s White House visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom.
“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.
Trump said people had wanted this change, especially with regard to the wooden barrels in which the spirits of Scotch and bourbon can be aged.
Trump has used alcohol as a pressure point in his tariff threats. Last year, he threatened a 200% tariff on European wine — a major potential blow to French and Italian vineyards that never came to fruition.
Foreign countries have responded in turn with threats on bourbon and other American products.
In the end, the Trump administration exempted cork from tariffs, a huge relief to Portugal, the leading supplier of the material used to cap wine bottles.
Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council in the U.S., interpreted Trump’s post as a removal of the 10% tariff on whisky from the United Kingdom.
“We applaud President Trump for working to restore a proven zero‑for‑zero model of fair, reciprocal trade between our two nations,” Swonger said in a statement. “This action strengthens transatlantic ties, brings much‑needed certainty to our industry and allows spirits producers on both sides of the Atlantic to grow, invest and support jobs at a critical time.”
