Donald Trump has announced plans to remove the 10% tariff on Irish whiskey, revealing the decision during the trophy ceremony at the Irish Open golf tournament in Ireland.
The US president said he had been pressed on the issue by people attending the event, including some of the golfers.
“Everybody’s been bugging me” to do it, Mr Trump said. “And I said, ‘On behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off’” Irish whiskey.
The announcement was met with loud whistling and cheers from spectators as the tournament drew to a close. Details of when the tariff would be lifted were not immediately available.
Irish whiskey currently faces the standard tariff imposed by Mr Trump on most imports from the European Union. The rate was reduced from 15% to 10% in July.
The Irish Whiskey Association called for the tariff to be removed in May, arguing that doing so would help US companies with Irish products in their portfolios and reduce uncertainty for consumers.
Mr Trump announced in May that certain tariffs on UK whiskey would be lifted, covering Scotch and spirits made in Northern Ireland. The Scotch Whisky Association said on July 24 that the zero-tariff policy had come into effect.
Mr Trump previously said he granted the UK 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!” he posted on social media on April 30.
