Trump announces to lift US tariff on Irish whiskey, says everybody's been bugging him about it

US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will remove the 10 per cent currently imposed on Irish whiskey, making the declaration at the closing ceremony of the Irish Open golf tournament in Ireland. He made the announcement while presenting the tournament trophy, saying the issue had been repeatedly raised with him by several people, including Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin and golfers participating in the event.

Trump said Shane Lowry, the Irish Open winner, was also among those who had spoken to him about the tariff. Referring to the repeated requests, Trump said, "Everybody's been bugging me to do it.

And he said, ‘And I said, for the United States of America, I'm going to take the tariffs off' of Irish whiskey. Spectators at the event responded to the announcement with loud cheers and whistles. It was not immediately clear when the tariff would be lifted.

Irish whiskey now faces the normal tariff the Trump administration has slapped on most imports from the European Union. In July the tariff was lowered from 15 per cent to 10 per cent but the levy remained on Irish whiskey.

The situation also led to an imbalance between Irish whiskey and whiskey produced in the UK. In April Trump announced a tariff exemption for UK whiskey, which includes Scotch whiskey and spirits made in Northern Ireland.The Irish whiskey industry had been lobbying Washington for similar relief. The UK was being given preferential treatment while Irish whiskey was still subject to the EU tariff.

The Irish Whiskey Association had called for the tariff to be scrapped in May. The trade body said removing the additional trade barrier would help US businesses selling or distributing Irish products and would reduce uncertainty for consumers. So Trump’s latest announcement is a big deal for Irish whiskey producers and US businesses with ties to the industry, although the details of how and when the decision will be enacted are far from clear.

“We’re pleased with the president’s decision and see it as another positive step in the right direction to reduce barriers to trade in spirits,” said Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Swonger said the decision would help businesses and consumers during the upcoming holiday season. He said US hospitality businesses were going into a key period of the year and the removal of the tariff would give a boost to retailers, restaurants, consumers and the wider American economy.

The UK whiskey tariff break had already been made by Trump on April 30. He linked the decision at the time to the visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla of Britain to the White House. “The King and Queen got me to do something that no one else could do without hardly even asking!” Trump wrote on social media. The Scotch Whiskey Association later confirmed on 24 July that the zero-tariff policy was in place.