President Trump lifted a 10% tariff on Scottish whisky following King Charles III and Queen Camilla's state visit to the White House.
9:22 PM
President Trump announced Thursday he will remove all tariffs and restrictions on Scottish whisky imports, citing the state visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the White House this week.
"In Honor of the King and Queen of the United Kingdom, who have just left the White House, soon headed back to their wonderful Country, I will be removing the Tariffs and Restrictions on Whiskey having to do with Scotland's ability to work with the Commonwealth of Kentucky on Whiskey and Bourbon," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The decision lifts a 10% baseline tariff that the U.S. imposed on Scottish whisky under a 2025 trade agreement between Washington and London. Trump said the tariff removal also applies to restrictions on Scotland's collaboration with Kentucky on whisky and bourbon production.
Trump attributed the decision directly to the royal visit. "The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking! A wonderful Honor to have them both in the U.S.A.," he wrote. He noted that King Charles personally requested the tariffs be removed.
The UK government confirmed the tariff removal applies to all whisky imports, including Irish whiskey. Industry representatives said the move would allow distillers to "breathe a little easier during a period of significant pressure on the sector."
Scotland's First Minister John Swinney called the announcement "tremendous news for Scotland," noting that "millions of pounds were being lost every month from the Scottish economy" due to the tariffs. The Scottish and UK governments had been lobbying Trump to end the duties, as the United States is the single biggest market for Scotland's whisky.
Trump noted that the whisky industry's relationship with American bourbon production has long been important to both regions. Most Scotch producers source their wooden casks from the United States. "People have wanted to do this for a long time, in that there had been great Inter-Country Trade, especially having to do with the Wooden Barrels used," Trump wrote.
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