FILE-President Donald Trump touches King Charles III during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on April 28, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump said he plans to remove certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after this week’s White House visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The Associated Press reported that Trump said people wanted the change, particularly with wooden barrels in which the spirits of Scotch and bourbon can be aged.
While answering reporters' questions Thursday, Trump said the tariffs were lifted to strengthen the trade of barrels between Scotland and Kentucky, which produces most of the world's bourbon. The AP noted that those barrels are used to age alcohol.
Trump post on Scotch whisky and tariffs
What they're saying:
President Donald Trump shared the news on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, writing, "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."
He concluded, "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. The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!"
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Trump’s social media post wasn’t clear if the tariffs were being lifted on bottles of Scotch or on the materials used to produce alcohol in both countries.
In a statement from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, obtained by The Associated Press, Greer said the U.S. would give "preferential duty access for whiskey produced in the United Kingdom." The administration did not immediately respond to questions about whether that meant eliminating the tariffs or lowering them.
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Separately, in 2025, the Trump administration reached a trade structure that placed a 10% tax on most goods imported from Britain. The Scotch Whisky Association told the AP its export volume to the U.S. fell 15% after the tariffs were announced last year.
According to the AP, Trump has used alcohol as a ploy in his tariff threats. In 2025, he threatened a 200% tariff on European wine. Meanwhile, foreign countries have responded with threats on bourbon and other U.S. products.
Eventually, the Trump administration exempted cork from tariffs, a relief to Portugal, which is the leading supplier of the material used to cap wine bottles.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by a Trump Truth Social post and The Associated Press. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.