Trump says he will lift tariffs and import restrictions on Scottish whiskey

U.S. President Trump posted on social media on April 30 that he will remove the tariffs and import restrictions targeting the UK’s Scotch whisky. The Scotch Whisky Association data shows that the United States is Scotland’s largest overseas single export market, accounting for nearly 20% of Scotland’s Scotch whisky export total in 2025. Affected by the additional tariffs imposed by the United States, in 2025, the value and volume of Scotland’s Scotch whisky exports to the U.S. fell by 4% and 9.2%, respectively. For a long time, the U.S. and U.K. whisky industries have maintained a two-way trade relationship: while Scotland’s Scotch whisky exports go to the U.S., U.S. companies export large quantities of used wooden barrels to Scottish whisky distillers for aging whisky. According to the trade agreement reached between the U.S. and the U.K. in May 2025, the U.S. levies a 10% import tariff on Scotch whisky imported from the U.K., and this rate has remained in effect to this day. (Xinhua News Agency)