Trump Removes 10% Tariff on Irish Whiskey After Hosting Irish Open at Doonbeg Resort

DOONBEG, Ireland — How do you get U.S. President Donald Trump to cut tariffs? Evidently, let him host your nation’s golf tournament in one of his resorts.

Trump announced Sunday night he will remove the 10% U.S. tariff charge on Irish whiskey products. He made the move as a crowd-pleaser at the closing ceremony of the Irish Open, where he presented the winner’s trophy to Ireland’s Shane Lowry.

The United States is the primary export market for Ireland’s distillers. But they have been at a competitive disadvantage versus U.K. whiskey brands made in Scotland and Northern Ireland since May, when Trump removed tariff charges on U.K. exports of the product. Trump had tied his U.K. move to the just-completed U.S. visit of King Charles.

In their own apparent bid to curry favor with the president, the Irish made Trump’s golf resort in Ireland, Doonbeg, the host for the country’s premier annual tournament. Trump spent much of Sunday walking the course or watching the action from a balcony overlooking the 18th hole.

Trump, who presented the trophy to Lowry alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, said he had discussed whiskey tariffs over dinner Saturday night with Lowry, Rory McIlroy and other Irish pro golfers.

“Everybody’s been bugging me to say, ‘Would you do me a favor, it’s so unfair what’s going on: Could you possibly take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey?’” Trump told the crowd to rising cheers. “And I said, ‘On behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey!’ Great job, Shane.”

The U.S. rate on Irish whiskey, like most other EU products, has been set at 10% following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to deem parts of Trump’s punitive tariffs regime illegal, including a previous 15% rate on Irish whiskey.