Trump Says US Will Drop Tariff on Irish Whiskey

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States would remove its 10% tariff on Irish whiskey, making the announcement at the end of a visit to Ireland.

Trump delivered the news before a crowd of Irish golf fans at a tournament held at a course owned by his family in Doonbeg. The remark drew loud cheers.

He said the matter had come up in his talks with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, whom he met in Dublin on Saturday at the start of a 48-hour visit to the country. Golfer Shane Lowry had also raised it, Trump said, describing how people had been pressing him on the fairness of the duty.

"And I said on behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey," he told the crowd.

Wine and spirits exports to the US had been included in a 15% tariff applied to most items under a European Union–United States trade deal struck last year. Fresh US tariffs imposed on 60 trading partners in July, including the EU, brought the rate down to 10%. The step formed part of efforts to rebuild Trump's near-global tariff wall after the US Supreme Court struck down his initial duties.

The Irish Whiskey Association welcomed the announcement. Its director, Eoin O Caitin, said nothing exemplified the US-Ireland trade relationship better than Irish whiskey, and the group said it would keep working with EU and US counterparts to secure a return to a zero-for-zero tariff arrangement for all drinks exports. The association added that it looked forward to the announcement being fully implemented.