President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States will eliminate its 10 percent tariff on Irish whiskey, offering a significant trade concession to Ireland following repeated appeals from Irish officials and the country’s spirits industry.
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Trump made the surprise announcement during the trophy ceremony at the Irish Open, held at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg.
“Everybody’s been bugging me” about the tariff, Trump told the crowd, adding that some professional golfers had raised the issue with him.
“And I said, ‘On behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off’” Irish whiskey, Trump said.
The announcement drew cheers and whistles from spectators. Trump did not provide a date for when the tariff exemption would take effect.
Irish whiskey has been subject to the 10 percent U.S. import tariff applied to many European Union products. Trump previously exempted certain British spirits, including Scotch whisky and whiskey produced in Northern Ireland, from U.S. tariffs.
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The Irish Whiskey Association had pressed the administration to provide similar treatment to whiskey produced in the Republic of Ireland, arguing that tariffs hurt producers on both sides of the Atlantic. Many American spirits companies own or distribute Irish whiskey brands.
Trump said his decision followed appeals from several people, including Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin and Irish golfer Shane Lowry, who won the Irish Open on Sunday.
The move would restore an important tariff advantage for one of Ireland’s best-known exports and remove an additional cost for U.S. importers bringing Irish whiskey into the American market.
The administration has not yet released details explaining how or when the tariff exemption will be implemented.
Trump’s decision comes as his administration continues to use tariffs as leverage in trade negotiations with major U.S. trading partners. A February presidential proclamation imposed a temporary 10 percent surcharge on most imported goods, subject to specified exemptions.
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