JOHN Swinney has said there is a “real chance” of a better trade deal for Scotch whisky after meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Swinney travelled to Washington DC to meet with the president in the Oval Office on Tuesday, in a bid to convince him to roll back the 10% tariff on whisky.
The First Minister said while a deal was not concluded – as this will ultimately be for the UK Government to negotiate – he said he had done some “pretty heavy lifting” to ensure whisky is now on the president’s agenda.
Swinney stressed that when Trump visited Scotland in July, whisky tariffs were “not on his radar” adding that he felt the UK Government had not pressed the matter with the president. He said that has now changed and he had managed to push it up the priority list.
The First Minister said the ball is now “firmly in the UK Government’s court” to ensure a better deal is reached.
He told journalists at Bute House on Wednesday: “It was a good meeting; a very serious and a very substantial conversation.
“We set out our case, set out the chance we believe exists for a better deal that benefits America and Scotland, and President Trump listened carefully to Scotland’s case.
“I have worked hard to create a platform for the UK Government to negotiate and deliver on Scotch whisky.
“A better deal for whisky was not previously on the agenda – and it now very much is.
“But the ball is firmly in the UK Government’s court.
He added: “I think – and I hope – there is now a real chance of a better deal.”
Swinney said on the back of the 50-minute meeting – which he stressed was much longer than the 30 minutes he thought he would get – he said he felt Scotland was “close to the hearts” of US lawmakers and the US government, adding the president had told him if “he could be of help to Scotland, I should let him know”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Swinney met representatives and member companies of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) and the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) to make the case for lower whisky tariffs.
They met at Mount Vernon, the home of US founding father George Washington and the site of a whiskey distillery he opened in 1798, and which was operated by his Scottish farm hand James Anderson.
Swinney also held meetings with Lord Peter Mandelson, the UK's ambassador to the US – whose residence in the UK embassy he also stayed in on Monday night – along with senior UK officials directly involved in the ongoing UK-US trade talks.
Swinney continuously dodged questions on whether Mandelson should remain in post following revelations the British ambassador to the US had described paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein as his “best pal”.
He said it was for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to defend Mandelson’s position.
The First Minister told reporters he did not go to Trump with a “sob story” but tried to spell out a deal that would benefit both Scotland and the US.
He felt the president “got it” when he explained how Scotland producing more whisky would benefit the bourbon industry in the US.
He said: “I wasn’t setting out something that meant America had to make a sacrifice on Scotland’s behalf. I was setting out a proposition to essentially take the whisky and the bourbon issue out of the equation and to try and get a win-win for both industries.
“The Congressman I met last night and the Distilled Spirits Council and the Kentucky Distillers Association that I met, they’re at one with the Scotch Whisky Association, because it’s in their interests.
“Just now, the bourbon industry can sell bourbon into the UK without any tariffs, so it’s 0 coming in but it’s 10% going out, but the point I was making was there’s a growth, and economic opportunity argument that the more whisky that is produced in Scotland, the more barrels we’ll require, which is a very lucrative trade for the US.
“I could see that President Trump could see the dynamics of that and the benefit for jobs and investment in the US. He makes no secret of the fact he likes deals.
“I think he got it.”
