6 godzin temu
Scotland's First Minister has vowed to press President Donald Trump to exempt Scotch whisky from US trade tariffs during the American leader's ongoing visit to Scotland.
John Swinney said the "uniqueness" of whisky made in Scotland justified the exemption from the 10% tariff applied on UK exports into the US.
The First Minister, who is due to hold talks with Trump during his five-day visit, said the tariffs were currently costing the local whisky industry £4 million a week.
Swinney told BBC Breakfast that tariffs were "very important for the Scottish economy" and scotch whisky was "a unique product".
"It can only be produced in Scotland. It's not a product that can be produced in any other part of the world," Swinney said. "So there's a uniqueness about that, which I think means there is a case for it to be taken out of the tariffs arrangement that is now in place."
“Obviously the trade deal with the United States provides a degree of stability for economic connections with the United States, but the application of tariffs is increasing the costs for the Scotch whisky industry.
“So one of my objectives will be to make the case to President Trump that Scotch whisky should be exempted from those tariffs.
“I think there’s a really good case for exempting Scotch whisky, and this is an opportunity that I have to put that case to President Trump on behalf of the Scotch whisky industry, which is a significant part of the Scottish economy," he said.
(PA/London) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
