Trump turns to golf, family business on Irish visit’s second day

At the conclusion of the Irish Open golf tournament in Ireland, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to remove a 10% tariff on Irish whiskey. The Republican president revealed during the trophy ceremony that he had been asked repeatedly about the issue, including by some of the golfers themselves. "Everybody's been bugging me" to take action, Trump stated. "And I said, 'On behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey."

Currently, Irish whiskey is subject to the standard tariff imposed on most imports from the European Union. In July, this tariff was reduced from 15% to 10%. In May, Trump had announced the lifting of certain tariffs on U.K. whiskey, which includes Scotch and spirits produced in Northern Ireland. The apparent surprise announcement at the end of the tournament was met with enthusiastic whistling and cheers from the crowd of spectators.

In May, the Irish Whiskey Association had called for the removal of the tariffs, arguing that such a step would benefit numerous U.S. companies with Irish products in their portfolios and prevent uncertainty for consumers. While details on the exact timeline for the tariff's removal were not immediately available, Trump had previously mentioned removing a tariff on whiskey after receiving a visit from King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

On April 30, Trump had posted on social media, stating that the King and Queen had prompted him to implement a tariff break on whiskey that no one else had managed to achieve without minimal persuasion.