Slàinte Mhath! Biden Admin Trade Deal With UK Suspends 25% Tariffs on Scotch Whisky

Photo by Daniel Leal-Olivas, AFP via Getty Images.

Slàinte mhath! to American aficionados of Scotch whisky. (That’s “Cheers” or “Good health,” if you’re not familiar with Scots Gaelic, pronounced “SLAN-ge-var.”) Here’s the reason for the toasting: President Joe Biden’s administration has reached a trade deal with the U.K. that suspends a 25 percent tariff on a variety of British goods, including British-made Airbus airplane parts, edible items like biscuits and clotted cream, and that delightful fermented concoction of malted barley known as Scotch whisky.

The tariffs were originally imposed as a retaliatory measure during the administration of former President Donald Trump, related to a long-running dispute over European Union aid to Boeing and Airbus. Eliminating them has been a top priority for U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, both to strength the U.K.-U.S. trade relationship and bolster their economy post-Brexit.

“From Scotch Whisky distillers to Stilton-makers, businesses across the U.K. will benefit from the U.S. decision today to suspend tariffs in this dispute,” said Johnson. “It shows what the U.K. can do as an independent trading nation, striking deals that back our businesses and support free and fair trade.”

According to the Boston Globe, “Britain dropped tariffs on some U.S. products indefinitely in January in a bid to reduce trade tensions,” but the Trump administration “did not reciprocate the U.K.’s concession.”

The new agreement means that British goods like the aforementioned Scotch whisky can be imported to the U.S. without the 25 percent tariff, which will be suspended for four months, allowing time to “focus on negotiating a balanced settlement to the disputes,” the U.K. government said in a statement.

The Scotsman reported several quotes from U.K. politicians touting the trade deal, including International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, who said she was “delighted to say that our American allies — under their new President and his hard-working staff at the U.S. Trade Representative — have embraced our move to seek a fair settlement.”

America is the “most valuable market” for Scotch whisky distillers, said Truss. “The easier it is for Americans to buy a bottle of Macallan, Talisker, or Glenfiddich, the more money those producers will have to invest in their businesses, their staff and futures.”

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross called the deal a “major step forward,” and a benefit of Brexit, being able to negotiate directly with the U.S. while the rest of the EU remained mired in the Boeing-Airbus dispute.

Unsurprisingly, the Scotch Whisky Association called the tariff suspension “fabulous news.”

“Today, everyone in our industry — from small companies to large — is breathing a sigh of relief,” said Association head Karen Betts, citing a 35 percent drop in exports to the U.S. over the 16 months the tariff had been in place, an estimated loss to Scotch whisky distillers of over half a billion pounds.