US tariffs for Scotch whisky exports suspended for 5 years

On June 17, the truce between the United Kingdom and the United States was confirmed. The custom tafiffs for the exports of Scotch whisky to USA are suspended for a 5 years. After a four-month tariff suspension in March, it looks like Scotch whisky producers may expect much better access to American consumers in upcoming years. Just two days earlier, the British government also announced that an agreement had been reached on a free trade agreement with Australia that would also remove tariffs on Scotch whisky exports.

The trade war between the EU, UK and US is part of a 17-year dispute between aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing. In 2019, the United States government imposed counter duties on goods from the EU, including single malt Scotch whisky and Irish single malt whisky, due to an ongoing dispute.

Commenting on the UK-US deal, Scotch Whisky Association CEO Karen Betts said:

“This is very good news for Scotch Whisky. The past two years have been extremely damaging for our industry, with the loss of over £600m in exports to the United States caused by a 25% tariff on Single Malt Scotch Whisky imposed as a result of the long-running dispute between US and European aircraft manufacturers. This deal removes the threat of tariffs being reimposed on Scotch Whisky next month and enables distillers to focus on recovering exports to our largest and most valuable export market. Today’s agreement is a culmination of many months of intensive negotiations and we’re grateful to Liz Truss, International Trade Secretary, and Katherine Tai, US Trade Representative, and their teams for their hard work.”

Source: Scotch Whisky Association