Trump pledges to scrap all Irish whiskey tariffs as Ireland visit ends

US President Donald Trump used the closing moments of his two-day visit to Ireland to announce he will eliminate all tariffs on Irish whiskey. He made the pledge shortly before presenting the winner's trophy to golfer Shane Lowry at the Irish Open, held at his Trump International golf resort in Doonbeg, County Clare.

Until now, whiskey distilled in the Republic of Ireland has been subject to the standard 15% tariff applied to EU goods entering the US, while whiskey produced in Northern Ireland or elsewhere in the UK faced no such charge. Trump said he had discussed the issue with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and with Lowry, adding that many people had pressed him to correct what they saw as an unfair situation.

Scrapping the tariff would close a gap that had given some Northern Ireland distillers an edge, since Trump had already lifted tariffs on all UK-made whiskey in May. Many Northern Ireland brands rely on whiskey matured and bottled by producers such as the Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk, County Louth, meaning those brands had been classified as EU rather than UK products and missed out on the earlier exemption.

During the visit, Trump repeated his support for a united Ireland, calling the merging of Northern Ireland and the Republic "one of the naturals of all time." Martin said Trump's comments were not a surprise, describing them as reflecting the president's long-held view, and suggested some reactions to the remarks had been overblown.

The trip drew significant protest activity: more than 10,000 people marched in Dublin on Saturday, while around 100 protesters gathered in Doonbeg on Sunday. Three women were arrested on Saturday for trespassing on the golf course. Local business owners, meanwhile, credited the resort with sustaining jobs and the local economy, noting it employs roughly 300 people in the area.