President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was lifting certain tariffs and restrictions on Scotch whisky, crediting a White House visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla for the shift. The president made the announcement in a social-media post and later in remarks to reporters, but the White House did not respond to requests for clarification about the precise scope of the change, leaving industry figures and Scottish leaders to interpret the language for themselves.
“The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!” Trump posted.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer issued a statement later Thursday saying the United States would provide “preferential duty access for whiskey produced in the United Kingdom.” The administration did not immediately say whether that meant eliminating the 10 percent tariff the U.S. placed on most British goods in April 2025, reducing it, or applying the preference only to cooperage materials — the wooden barrels in which Scotch and bourbon are aged.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that his order was designed specifically to free up barrel trade between Scotland and Kentucky, the state that produces nearly all of the world’s bourbon. “I just took all the restrictions off so Scotland and Kentucky can start dealing again,” he said, adding that he is “not a big drinker.”
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney interpreted the president’s statement as a removal of tariffs on Scotch itself, calling it a “tremendous success” for his country. “People’s jobs were at stake. Millions of pounds were being lost every month from the Scottish economy,” Swinney said, expressing gratitude to both Trump and the king.
The Scotch Whisky Association said its export volume to the United States fell 15 percent after the 10 percent duty took effect last April. Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council in the U.S., also read Trump’s post as a removal of the whisky tariff. “We applaud President Trump for working to restore a proven zero‑for‑zero model of fair, reciprocal trade between our two nations,” Swonger said in a statement. “This action strengthens transatlantic ties, brings much‑needed certainty to our industry and allows spirits producers on both sides of the Atlantic to grow, invest and support jobs at a critical time.”
Trump has used alcohol as a pressure point in his tariff threats before. In 2025 he threatened a 200 percent tariff on European wine — a move that never materialized. Foreign governments have responded in turn with threats on bourbon and other American products. The administration also exempted cork from tariffs, a decision that gave significant relief to Portugal, the world’s leading cork supplier.