President Trump lifts Scotch whiskey tariffs ‘in honor of King Charles’

US President Donald Trump on Thursday lifted tariffs on key British exports, after a state visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla was seen as helping to repair transatlantic relations, which have been soured by a series of political rows.

“In honor of the King and Queen of England who just left the White House and will soon return to our great country, we are eliminating tariffs and restrictions on whiskey that are related to Scotland’s ability to work with Kentucky on two very important industries: whiskey and bourbon,” the president said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday.

“People have wanted to do this for a long time, because there was a lot of trade between nations, especially that related to the wooden barrels used. The king and queen let me do something that no one else could do, with very little asking!” he added.

President Trump later told reporters: “We have lifted all restrictions so that Scotland and Kentucky can start trading again.”

“And I did it in honor of the king and queen who just left,” he said.

The British government confirmed to CNBC on Friday that the changes announced the day before would apply to all whiskey duties, including Irish whisky.

Last year, Britain became the first country in the world to sign a trade deal with the Trump administration after the president announced so-called Liberation Day tariffs. The terms of the British agreement included imposing a 10% blanket tariff on goods imported into the United States.

This meant the existing zero-tariff trade environment for exporters on both sides of the Atlantic would be revoked, and new duties would be imposed on Scotch whiskey and other spirits sent from the UK to the US.

The Scotch whiskey industry employs around 40,000 people in Scotland, and in 2025, whiskey accounted for 23% of all product exports. The division is also a major purchaser of used bourbon barrels from the United States.

Scottish and British government officials have been lobbying for a return to zero-for-no tariffs on spirits exports, but the Scotch Whiskey Association announced in September that it was costing its members 4 million pounds ($5.44 million) a week in lost exports.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who heads the devolved government in Edinburgh, said in a statement after Trump’s announcement that it was his mission to “do everything we can to eliminate the U.S. tariffs on our whiskey.”

“People’s jobs were at stake,” he said. “Millions of pounds were being taken out of the Scottish economy every month…I would like to thank the President for listening and acting on the removal of tariffs. And Scotland is grateful to His Majesty the King for the important role he has played in this incredible success.”

The whiskey industry also faced the prospect of tariffs on single malt returning to 25% in the coming months absent a deal with the White House, as a five-year moratorium on single malt duties expires.

Scotch Whiskey Association CEO Mark Kent said in a statement on Thursday that the US is the industry’s most valuable export market.

“It will bring some relief to distillers at a time when the distilling industry is under a lot of pressure,” he said. “For months, many of us have worked tirelessly to restore zero-to-zero tariffs on whiskey and bourbon. The special relationship that the Scotch and American whiskey industries share will be reinvigorated by this announcement.”

The King and Queen concluded their four-day state visit to the United States on Thursday. These included a series of events in Washington, D.C., including the king’s address to a joint session of Congress and a state dinner hosted by the president and first lady.

King Charles received a standing ovation in Parliament for his speech touting the value of the so-called transatlantic “special relationship” and calling for Britain and the United States to come together in “unstable and dangerous” times.

“The challenges we face are too great for any one country to endure alone,” he said, reminding Congress that NATO came to the aid of the United States in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

Relations between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Trump have soured in recent weeks as the two take issue with the British government’s opposition to its interest in Greenland and requests for aid to Iran.

At the beginning of his second term, Trump described Starmer as a friend despite their political differences and said Britain was shielded from the brunt of his trade policy “because I like it”.

Many onlookers credited King Charles with saving a “special relationship” from crisis during a four-day trip this week.

After Tuesday’s state dinner, President Trump called the king a “great friend” and told reporters, “When you like the king of a country this much, you probably have a better relationship with the prime minister.”

Buckingham Palace said in an emailed statement Friday morning that the monarch had been informed of President Trump’s “warm attitude” and “deeply appreciates the decision to bring about important changes to the British whiskey industry and the livelihoods it supports.”

“His Majesty will be praising the President for his thoughtfulness and generous hospitality as he departs the United States,” a palace spokesperson said.

Matthew Barzun, who served as U.S. ambassador to Britain under President Barack Obama, told CNBC’s Tania Breyer on Thursday that King Charles’ so-called soft power has “certainly increased the treasure trove of trust, respect and understanding” between Britain and the United States.

“Diplomacy, or a diplomat’s job, is to leave that reservoir a little higher than where you found it,” he said. “Things get worse over time and sometimes there’s a big shock to the system and you lose a lot of trust, respect and understanding. In that sense, I think there was a very quantitative benefit to this visit. I think that reservoir has been raised. It’s higher than it was the week before, and that’s significant.”