Daniel Wolfram
There is still a 10% import tax that continue to threaten Ireland’s $4.6 billion whiskey business after months of inaction from Trump.
During a September golf visit to Ireland, President Donald Trump made a promise to local distillers.
Whiskey from the Republic of Ireland faced a 10 percent import tax in the United States, while bottles produced in Northern Ireland entered tariff-free.
Trump got carried away and promised to gut the tariffs after speaking with people who had been hit by those tariffs. But months later, there is still no solution to the problem Trump created.
People ‘bugging’ Trump about whiskey
At the golf retreat, the president also spoke at a press conference, where he claimed that people had pleaded with him for months to step in. “Everybody’s been bugging me,” he said at the time. “They are saying, ‘Would you do me a favor?’ It’s so unfair what’s going on.”
He assured the people in attendance that he would fix the problem immediately. “‘Could you possibly take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey?’ and I said, ‘On behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey.'”
Click to display external content from x,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
But months later, Trump has still not kept his promise he made on his golf course.
The tariff on Irish whiskey remains active today. Industry leaders say the lack of movement leaves businesses facing prolonged uncertainty, especially as production costs keep climbing across the board.
A lot of money on the line
The unresolved fee threatens a huge engine of growth. According to a report commissioned by trade group Drinks Ireland, the sector pumps 4.6 billion dollars into the economy and supports over 14,000 jobs across the island.
Trump’s tariff also comes at a time when Irish whiskey is soaring worldwide. Over the last decade, sales abroad surged by 91 percent in value and 52 percent in volume, reaching 2.7 billion euros annually. Distillers also send 95 percent of all their whiskey to other countries.
Cormac Healy, director of Drinks Ireland, warned that trade disputes hit when producers already face heavy pressure. Rising operational costs continue to squeeze profit margins and threaten investment across the sector.
“We welcome the announcement on the removal of U.S. tariffs on Irish whiskey,” Healy said, according to The Irish Star, pushing for a cancellation of Trump’s taxes. Securing a zero-tax deal and reaching new markets, he added, will be critical to protecting local jobs and the future of Irish whiskey.
