Trump Says He'll End Tariffs on Irish Whiskey

President Trump said he would remove a 10% tariff on Irish whiskey, a duty that currently fall under those imposed on all European Union wine and spirits exports to the U.S.

Chris Swonger president/CEO, Distilled Spirits Association of the U.S., called the announcement "another positive step toward reducing barriers to spirits trade." Swonger noted the announcement followed an earlieer announcement removing tariffs of Scotch and all other UK whiskies. "As U.S. hospitality businesses enter the critical holiday season, this action will provide a welcome boost for retailers, restaurants, consumers and the American economy,” he added.

The Irish Whiskey Association said it welcomed the announcement and said it would continue to work with its EU and U.S. counterparts to secure a return to the zero-for-zero tariffs for all bev/al exports. "Nothing exemplifies the US-Ireland trade relationship better than Irish Whiskey," IWA Director Eoin ⁠O ​Caitin said in a statement.

He made the announcement at the end of a visit to Ireland on Sunday. He met Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin in Dublin Saturday as he began a 48-hour visit to the country.

"Taoiseach (Ireland's Prime Minister) and I talked ​about it and Shane (golfer Shane Lowry) talked about it and everybody has been bugging me saying 'would you do me a favor? It's so unfair what's going on. Could you possibly take the ​tariffs off of Irish whiskey?," Trump said."And I said on behalf of the ​United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey," he announced ‌to ⁠loud cheers from the crowd.

Irish golf fans at the Irish Open chanted "U-S-A" after Trump made the announcement at the Trump International Golf Club in Doonbeg, Ireland.

The move will remove an advantage some distillers in Northern Ireland had over competitors in the Republic of Ireland following the end of tariffs on all UK-made whiskey which Trump announced in May.