The US import tax on Scotch whisky from the UK will be dropped, President Trump announced Thursday, in the afterglow of the visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The tariff on UK whisky, one of Britain's top exports, is currently 10% and had been scheduled to rise to 25% in June when a previous trade arrangement lapsed, the Wall Street Journal reports. Trump posted on social media that he made the move in "Honor of the King and Queen of the United Kingdom," per the Guardian. He said they got him to drop the tax during a meeting "without hardly even asking."
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the US will grant "preferential duty access" for whisky produced in the UK, along with similar treatment for some other American and British products. The UK's Department for Business and Trade later clarified that the change covers the whisky itself, not related goods such as casks. Industry groups on both sides welcomed the move. UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle called it "great news" for a Scotch sector he valued at nearly $1.3 billion in exports and "thousands of jobs." The Scotch Whisky Association, whose CEO Mark Kent said people had worked for months to restore zero tariffs on whisky and bourbon, noted UK whisky exports to the US had fallen 15% under Trump's second-term tariffs.
Chris Swonger of the Distilled Spirits Council of the US said lifting the 10% duty would be a significant boost for American bars, restaurants, and other hospitality businesses. The plane taking Charles and Camilla home left Thursday from Joint Base Andrews after a formal farewell ceremony at the White House, per CNN.
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