{"id":12410,"date":"2026-05-01T09:17:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T09:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/01\/trump-says-hes-lifting-certain-tariffs-on-scotch-whisky-wcax\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T09:17:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T09:17:53","slug":"trump-says-hes-lifting-certain-tariffs-on-scotch-whisky-wcax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/01\/trump-says-hes-lifting-certain-tariffs-on-scotch-whisky-wcax\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump says he\u2019s lifting certain tariffs on Scotch whisky – WCAX"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump said Thursday he is removing certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after this week\u2019s White House visit by King Charles III<\/a> and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!\u201d Trump posted on social media.<\/p>\n

Trump said people had wanted this change, especially with regard to the wooden barrels in which the spirits of Scotch and bourbon can be aged. His post left it unclear if the tariffs were being lifted on bottles of Scotch or on the materials used to produce alcohol in both countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be removing the Tariffs and Restrictions on Whiskey having to do with Scotland\u2019s ability to work with the Commonwealth of Kentucky on Whiskey and Bourbon,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

The White House did not respond to emails seeking clarification about the details of what Trump announced, though the post was interpreted in Scotland and by industry lobbyists as removing the tariffs on Scotch.<\/p>\n

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later said in a Thursday statement that the U.S. would give \u201cpreferential duty access for whiskey produced in the United Kingdom.\u201d The administration did not immediately respond to questions about whether that meant eliminating the tariffs or lowering them.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration in 2025 reached a trade framework that put a 10% tax on most goods imported from Britain. The Scotch Whisky Association said its export volume to the U.S. fell 15% after the tariffs were announced in April of last year.<\/p>\n

The president, answering questions from reporters in the Oval Office, said the tariffs were lifted to specifically enhance the trade of barrels between Scotland and Kentucky, which produces almost all of the world\u2019s bourbon. The barrels are used to age the alcohol.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just took all the restrictions off so Scotland and Kentucky can start dealing again,\u201d said Trump, who added that he\u2019s \u201cnot a big drinker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, John Swinney, Scotland\u2019s first minister, interpreted the president\u2019s statement as a removal of tariffs on Scotch itself, calling it a \u201ctremendous success\u201d for his country.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople\u2019s jobs were at stake. Millions of pounds were being lost every month from the Scottish economy,\u201d said Swinney, expressing gratitude to both Trump and King Charles III.<\/p>\n

Trump has used alcohol as a pressure point in his tariff threats.<\/a> Last year, he threatened a 200% tariff on European wine \u2014 a major potential blow to French and Italian vineyards that never came to fruition.<\/p>\n

Foreign countries have responded in turn with threats on bourbon and other American products.<\/p>\n

In the end, the Trump administration exempted cork from tariffs,<\/a> a huge relief to Portugal, the leading supplier of the material used to cap wine bottles.<\/p>\n

Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council in the U.S., also interpreted Trump\u2019s post as a removal of the 10% tariff on whisky from the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe applaud President Trump for working to restore a proven zero\u2011for\u2011zero model of fair, reciprocal trade between our two nations,\u201d Swonger said in a statement. \u201cThis action strengthens transatlantic ties, brings much\u2011needed certainty to our industry and allows spirits producers on both sides of the Atlantic to grow, invest and support jobs at a critical time.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP correspondent Jill Lawless contributed from London.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump said Thursday he is removing certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after this week\u2019s White House visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom. \u201cThe King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!\u201d Trump posted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}