Cheers to that! US agrees to lift tariffs on Scotch whisky
Scotch single malt whisky makers breathed a sigh of relief Thursday after the United States agreed to suspend tariffs on one of Scotland’s main exports following the resolution of a long-standing trade row between the US and the European Union over subsidies to aircraft companies Boeing and Airbus.
Former US President Donald Trump imposed the 25 percent tariffs in October 2019 as part of the trade dispute over aerospace subsidies. While the United Kingdom no longer is an EU member, it belonged to the bloc when the tariffs were introduced.
Earlier this week, the US and the EU reached an agreement to end their dispute, paving the way for a five-year suspension of tariffs that both sides had put on an array of products, including olive oil and cheese, as well as whisky.
The Scotch Whisky Association estimated that the tariffs contributed to a 30 percent fall in total exports to the US, equivalent to around 600 million pounds ($850m) in the 18 months to March 2021.
“This deal removes the threat of tariffs being re-imposed on Scotch whisky next month and enables distillers to focus on recovering exports to our largest and most valuable export market,” Karen Betts, the association’s chief executive, said.
Do I care? Meh, Canada's sin-taxes already make a decent Scotch a rare treat.
Nothing against scotch, but I'll stick to Kentucky bourbon.
I like my Canadian Whiskey
You can have it, Lol
Nothing better than a great Scotch.
I have no idea if it's even available stateside, but I have 6 bottles of Balblair headed that way with my HHE shipment. It's a 25yo single malt. Six bottles will be way more than enough to support my very minimal drinking for the rest of my life and then some!! Hell, one or two bottles probably would have sufficed, but I figured I'd need some to let others have a taste.
Great Scotch with a great cigar, sitting by a fire pit on a summer night.