US President Donald Trump has said that his decision to remove tariffs on Irish whiskey will only apply to Ireland, and not the EU.
Prior to this, whiskey made in the Republic of Ireland which was sold to the US, was the subject of a 10% tariff, putting it at a disadvantage to Scotch and Northern Irish whiskey, which had no tariff.
Mr Trump's announcement, which came at the end of the Irish Open at his golf resort in Doonbeg yesterday, has been welcomed by the Irish Government, as well by representatives of the Irish Whiskey industry.
Speaking on the tarmac at Shannon Airport before returning to the USA on his Air Force One yesterday evening, President Trump was asked by reporters if this tariff shift would apply only to Ireland or across the EU, to which he replied: "Just Ireland".
"It was very unfair because others had the relief and they didn't, so I thought I'd do it. Actually, Shane [Lowry] asked me about it, too. A lot of people asked me".
It had been reported that Taoiseach Micheál Martin had raised the issue of tariffs on Irish whiskey with Mr Trump while speaking to him at Farmleigh yesterday, with Trump promising to look into it.
Mr Trump announced the removal of the tariff while speaking at the prizegiving ceremony for the Irish Open yesterday at his Doonbeg golf resort, which was won by Irish golfer, Shane Lowry.
"I want to mention one thing. Taoiseach and I talked about it and Shane talked about it and everyone has been bugging me saying 'would you do me a favour? It's so unfair what's going on. Could you possibly take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey?", he said.
"And I said on behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey".
This was met with a huge round of applause from the crowd.
This move welcomed by Tánaiste, Simon Harris, who said: "A welcome announcement of economic significance from President Trump this evening that reflects the very positive engagement we've had with the US administration on tariffs over the 18 months".
Elsewhere, Director of the Irish Whiskey Association, Eoin Ó Catháin, called this move a vote of confidence in the industry and will be a "gamechanger", saying that it will bring the Irish sector back to full equity with scotch whiskey, its biggest competitor in the US market.
"This isn't solely attributable to tariffs," he stated, "but they have definitely played a role".
"In addition, the first half of this year our export figures were down just over 20%", he said. "I hope the zero tariff will be extended to all Irish drink exports".
He continued: "The US is our biggest market, it represents thousands of jobs, millions in investments and it has been under pressure, I suppose, over the last year and a bit because of that tariff.
"We're delighted to see it removed", he added. "We'll continue to work with all of our colleagues in the US, in Brussels, here in Dublin to ensure this full tariff liberalisation will take place" and the that the association: "like to see a return to the zero-for-zero trading arrangement for all of our drinks exports". (All quotes mentioned in this piece are according to RTÉ).
