Trump stripping tariffs on UK whisky 'in honor of King and Queen'
President Donald Trump has officially lifted all tariffs and restrictions on British whisky imports, remarking that King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s state visit spurred him on to make the major change.
Earlier this week (27 to 30 April), Charles, 77, became the first monarch in almost 20 years to embark on a state visit to the USA.
The royal and his wife, 78, touched down in Washington on Tuesday to meet with Trump, 79, and First Lady Melania Trump, 56, and take part in a special afternoon tea event at the British Embassy.
Following the party, which saw the head chef ‘bending the rules’ when it came to food flavours, the pair headed for a state dinner at the White House.
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As strict rules require the first spouse to take charge of the kitchen, her office revealed the four-course menu in advance, featuring classic French dishes and a trio of American wines.
Despite royal commentators claiming Buckingham Palace would have been in touch about Charles and Camilla’s food preferences, Melania opted for a chocolate dessert that the former apparently would not have been keen on.
Following their departure from the White House, Trump has insisted that the couple managed to convince him to lift the 10 percent import levy on whisky.
The tax was initially introduced last year and has been lobbied against by the Scottish and UK governments.
“In Honor of the King and Queen of the United Kingdom, who have just left the White House, soon headed back to their wonderful Country, I will be removing the Tariffs and Restrictions on Whiskey having to do with Scotland's ability to work with the Commonwealth of Kentucky on Whiskey and Bourbon, two very important Industries within Scotland and Kentucky,” the businessman wrote via his social media site, Truth Social.
“People have wanted to do this for a long time, in that there had been great Inter-Country Trade, especially having to do with the Wooden Barrels used.”
He continued: “The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking! A wonderful Honor to have them both in the U.S.A.”
Following his declaration on social media, the father-of-five said that Scotland and Kentucky can immediately ‘start dealing again’.
“They’ve been trying to get this for a long time,” he added in a press conference on Thursday.
In a statement shared with People Magazine, Buckingham Palace said that the King had already been informed of Trump’s ‘warm gesture’ and that he sent his ‘sincere gratitude for a decision that will make an important difference to the British whisky industry and the livelihoods it supports’.
"His Majesty will be raising a dram to the President’s thoughtfulness and generous hospitality as he departs the US after a most enjoyable State Visit for both Their Majesties in this special anniversary year,” the statement continued.
Graeme Littlejohn, director of strategy for the Scotch Whisky Association, has said he was ‘delighted’ to hear that the alcohol taxes had been axed.
“The industry's been losing around £4m a week in lost exports to the United States - £150m over the course of the last year while tariffs have been in place," he told BBC Scotland News.
"This is a real boost for the industry and distillers will breathe a sigh of relief now that these tariffs are off.
"It's really thanks to the huge amount of negotiation that's been going on over many months, at a very senior level."
Peter Kyle, UK business and trade secretary, added: "This is great news for our scotch whisky industry, which is worth almost £1bn in exports and supports thousands of jobs across the UK.”
Ella Scott