Donald Trump in Scotland: Why Scotch whisky industry speaks for us all on tariffs

When Donald Trump visited the UK in 2018, he criticised the then Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan and said Boris Johnson would make a “great Prime Minister”. Yesterday, however, the US President managed to get through a lengthy press conference without sparking a diplomatic incident or seriously undermining Keir Starmer.

Even when asked about Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, whose party is currently ahead in national polls, Trump was polite. “I like this man [Starmer] a lot, and I like Nigel,” he said. He also largely dodged a question about Scottish independence, and instead spoke about his love for Scotland, saying it would benefit from “a lot” of the trade between the US and UK.

Of course, one of the most important Scottish goods that we export to the US is whisky. Trump appears to be open to negotiations over an exemption for Scotland’s national drink from the UK’s blanket 10 per cent tariff and, if genuine about his desire to see this country “thrive”, he should be.

Donald Trump plays a round of golf at the Trump Turnberry course (Picture: Christopher Furlong) | Getty Images

‘Zero-for-zero trade’

In a joint statement, the Scotch Whisky Association and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States welcomed his conciliatory tone, but added that they stood “shoulder to shoulder on the issue of tariffs” and wanted “a permanent return to zero-for-zero trade which has driven the success of our industries”. It is a message that the majority of industries on both sides of the Atlantic would echo.

Tariffs are bad for business, with relatively free trade one reason why the West became wealthy after the Second World War while the communist bloc stagnated behind its walls and curtains, both real and metaphorically iron.

As a significant barrier to trade, Trump’s tariffs are effectively an attempt to extend his Mexican border wall right round the US, closing it off from the rest of the world. And we will all pay a price.

However, one country that should be walled off from the civilised world is Putin’s Russia. We hope Trump will soon impose tougher sanctions on Moscow and secondary tariffs on its allies. As an economic weapon, tariffs should be wielded against enemies, not friends.