Trump Says He’ll Remove US Tariffs on Irish Whiskey


(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump said he would remove US tariffs on Irish whiskey, announcing the move Sunday as he attended a golf tournament at his family’s course in western Ireland.

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“On behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off,” Trump said to cheers from the crowd at the tournament’s trophy celebration.

Irish whiskey and other goods from the European Union are generally subject to a 10% tariff under an adjusted rate following a Supreme Court ruling striking down earlier Trump levies.

Trump’s decision was announced as Shane Lowry, a professional Irish golfer, won the Open in his home country. The declaration delivers a major victory to the Irish government and highlights the often shifting — and personal approach — to trade policy under the US president. Trump has regularly turned to tariffs to push for concessions and punish nations that have bucked his interests; he has also eased levies to reward allies.

The decision — which Trump announced to roaring applause at his golf course in Doonbeg, Ireland — came at the end of a two-day visit marked by the country’s efforts to engage in delicate diplomacy and maintain warm relations with the US president. Unlike other European nations that have been a target for Trump and drew his criticism this weekend, Ireland generally has been able to avoid some of that fire.

Ireland’s leaders rolled out the red carpet for Trump, treating him to pomp and pageantry even though he was not making an official state visit to the country. He was given gifts and met with the president and prime minister during a brief spell in Dublin Saturday.

Irish distillers have lobbied for a reduction in the duties. While whiskey distilled in the Republic of Ireland and imported into the US has been subject to the 10% tariff, Scotch currently does not face such levies as it benefits from the US-UK trade deal.

On Sunday, Trump said he was besieged by requests to address the Irish whiskey levies during his short visit, including appeals from Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin and Lowry.

Wine and spirits have frequently been caught in trade disputes since Trump was sworn into his second term in the White House.

After Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum last year, the EU prepared a host of retaliatory levies, including one that targeted American whiskey; Trump, in turn, threatened to slap a 200% import tax on champagnes from France.

Trump’s Irish visit was not without controversy. The president in remarks Saturday said he would like to see a unified Ireland — comments which sparked blowback in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.

Trump defended those remarks Sunday, calling them “fairly routine” and saying that he was only sharing “my opinion.”

(Updates with additional context details throughout)

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