SWA comments on 5 year suspension of US Tariffs

Commenting on the UK-US deal on future aerospace subsidies which further suspends tariffs on Scotch Whisky for five years, Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association 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.  Given, however, that this deal suspends tariffs rather than fully resolving the underlying dispute, what’s critical now is that the governments and aerospace companies on both sides stick to their commitments and work with one another constructively. 

“I want to note too that American whiskies remain subject to tariffs on entry into the UK and EU as a result of a separate dispute on steel and aluminium, and we hope these tariffs can also be resolved quickly.”

Ends