Scotch whisky bosses are hoping a deal to remove tariffs on sales to the US will be brought in as soon as possible, hailing it as a “significant boost” to the sector.
Tariffs of 10% in the United States had been costing the industry in Scotland “about £4 million a week in lost export”, Graeme Littlejohn, of the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), said – adding that this amounted to “£150 million in total over the last 12 months since the tariff has been in place”.
But with US President Donald Trump having announced that tariffs will be removed following the King’s state visit, he welcomed the “fantastic news for the industry”.
Posting about the removal of tariffs on his Truth Social platform, the president said the move was “in honour of the King and Queen of the United Kingdom, who have just left the White House”.
Buckingham Palace said afterwards that the King “sends his sincere gratitude for a decision that will make an important difference to the British whisky industry and the livelihoods it supports”.
Mr Littlejohn, SWA director of strategy and communications, told BBC Radio Scotland’s Breakfast programme that the move was a “demonstration of the soft power of the monarch and what he can bring to the United Kingdom”.
Speaking about Charles, he added: “He is clearly passionate about the industry, he has visited many distilleries before.”
However he said that “months and months of work” had taken place involving negotiators to get to this point.
Mr Littlejohn stated: “The King was the royal sparkle at the end of a lot of work to get a deal over the line here, this doesn’t happen overnight.”
He added: “The fact that these tariffs are now going to be removed… is a real boost for the industry, and distillers will breath a little easier during a time of significant pressure on the industry.”
The SWA director continued: “The impact of these tariffs has been significant, the US is the industry’s largest global market, around 20% of global exports of Scotch whisky goes to the United States, around £1 billion a year.
“So any tariff into a market of that size is going to have a significant impact.
“This tariff has definitely cost jobs, it has definitely paused investment in the industry and it has definitely been a significant period of strain on the industry.”
Speaking about the 10% tariff, he added that hopefully it will be removed “as soon as possible”, with Mr Littlejohn saying: “We want to get back to trading at full bore with the United States because that is such an important market for the Scotch whisky industry.”
However he also insisted that removal of the tariffs would not be “an overnight panacea” for pressures on the sector.
Mr Littlejohn said: “There is definitely still challenges within the industry, we are dealing, like everybody else, with energy price shocks, we’re dealing with increased taxes and regulation at home.
“We’re still dealing with tariffs overseas, but tariffs are reducing now in certain key markets.”
As well as the ending of tariffs in the US, he said tariffs in other “key markets” such as India and China were also being reduced.
He added: “I hope it will be a significant boost to the sector and we can get back to growth and employing people across the industry.”
Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who travelled to Washington last year to press the case for removing the tariffs in White House talks with the president, said on Thursday night that the decision was “tremendous news for Scotland”.
UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle also described it as being “great news for our Scotch whisky industry”.
Charandeep Singh, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, described the ending of tariffs as a “most welcome announcement which will deliver major benefits both sides of the Atlantic”.
He stated: “We know from extensive discussions during our own recent trade visit to the USA that an enormous amount of work has been going on behind the scenes to bring about this change – and credit is very much due to the whisky industry and both Scottish and UK governments for their determined efforts.
“The USA is the most important export market for Scotch, worth close to £1 billion, and it’s a wonderful way to round off this week’s state visit with His Majesty the King sealing a great deal for the sector.
“We should raise a glass following President Trump’s announcement – and look forward to further strengthening the special business relationships between our economies.”
