An opportunity for Swinney to lobby the president on whisky tariffspublished at 13:01 British Summer Time 29 July
13:01 BST 29 July
Douglas Fraser
Scotland business and economy editor
Image source, Getty Images
Donald Trump doesn’t drink alcohol, but he’s probably had
his fill of lobbying for the Scotch whisky industry.
John Swinney used his time with the US President to press
home the fact that one cannot substitute imported Scotch whisky by moving its
distillation to America, so it’s not so clear why a 10% tariff is required.
Scotch can, however, be substituted by US or Irish whiskey.
One of many questions being asked by the Irish government about the deal
struck between President Trump and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
is whether EU spirits, including Irish whiskey, could gain an advantage from a
‘zero-for-zero’ deal with US distillers exporting to Europe.
For Ireland, the trade war carries bigger risks than most
European states, as its economy starts from a high level of trade with the US,
including beef and dairy, and even more integration in the services sector. It
also has a golf resort, in County Clare, owned by Trump.
For Scotch whisky, meanwhile, the 10% tariff it now faces
on exports into the US could go up to 35% on the premium products sold as single malt.
Starting under President Trump in 2019, during his first
term in the White House, these were subject to a 25% tax as part of the trade
battle between the US and EU (then including the UK) over subsidies for Airbus
and for Boeing.
That was reckoned by distillers to have lost them £600m in
sales over the 18 months until former President Joe Biden took action – not to end the
tariff but to suspend it for five years. That ends in July next year.
To avoid that being added to the 10% tariff introduced this
year, the US administration would have to take a positive step to continue the
suspension or to end the airliner tariff war altogether.
