Trump says he is scrapping all tariffs on Irish whiskey

Trump announces he will lift tariffs after two-day visit

He spoke at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg before handing the Irish Open trophy to winner Shane Lowry, wrapping up a two-day visit to Ireland. 

Trump made the announcement at Doonbeg before flying back to Washington from Shannon Airport.

What the Irish whiskey tariff change means

Whiskey distilled in the Republic of Ireland currently faces the standard 15% tariff applied to EU goods entering the US. 

Whiskey made in Northern Ireland or elsewhere in the UK has no tariff at all, after Trump removed levies on all UK-made whiskey in May.

As BBC News NI economics editor John Campbell pointed out, the decision previously produced an awkward split.

Producers north of the border gained an advantage over competitors in the Republic, yet all-island supply chains meant some Northern Irish brands could not benefit from the earlier cut. 

Removing the Republic's tariff closes that gap.

nd that Trump's explanation was characteristically informal, saying that "everybody's been bugging me," and that Irish officials "are saying would you do me a favour? It's so unfair what's going on."

He added that Ireland is asking if the US could possibly "take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey and I said, on behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey."

He had spent Saturday in Dublin meeting Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Irish President Catherine Connolly, and used the trip to repeat his support for a united Ireland, describing the joining of Northern Ireland and the Republic as "one of the naturals of all time". 

That is some distance from the position in Westminster, where a border poll is off the table.