Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he plans to remove the 10 per cent tariff on Irish whiskey. He made the announcement at the close of the Irish Open in Ireland, saying he had been pressed on the issue by several people, including Irish Prime Minister Michel Martin and some of the golfers.
Trump said Irish Open winner Shane Lowry was among those who raised the matter with him. His announcement was greeted with loud whistling and cheers from spectators, though details on when the tariff would be lifted were not immediately available.
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During the trophy ceremony, Trump said, “Everybody’s been bugging me” to do it. “And I said, on behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off” Irish whiskey, he said.
Irish whiskey is currently subject to the standard tariff imposed by Trump on most imports from the European Union. That tariff was reduced from 15 per cent to 10 per cent in July. In April, Trump announced that he was lifting certain tariffs on UK whiskey, including Scotch and spirits made in Northern Ireland, creating an imbalance with Ireland.
Chris Swonger, president and chief executive officer of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, described Trump’s announcement as “another positive step toward reducing barriers to spirits trade”. He said the move would benefit everyone during the coming holidays. “As US hospitality businesses enter the critical holiday season, this action will provide a welcome boost for retailers, restaurants, consumers and the American economy,” Swonger said.
In May, the Irish Whiskey Association had called for the tariffs to be removed, saying such a step would help many US companies with Irish products in their portfolios and prevent uncertainty for consumers. Trump had also said on April 30 that he gave the United Kingdom a tariff break on whiskey after King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited the White House. “The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!” Trump said in a social media post. The Scotch Whisky Association said on July 24 that the zero-tariff policy had come into effect.
Trump’s latest announcement signals a planned end to the US tariff on Irish whiskey after similar relief was extended earlier to UK whiskey, with industry bodies in both Ireland and the United States welcoming the move even as the timeline for its implementation remains unclear.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
