Scotch whisky tariffs suspended in UK-US trade deal

Scotch whisky tariffs suspended in UK-US trade deal

The Scotch industry has welcomed the suspension folks tariffs on its products after the united kingdom and US resolved a long-running trade row over subsidies given to Airbus and Boeing.

The agreement will see retaliatory tariffs, imposed during the dispute, remain suspended for five years.

Those trade barriers were estimated to possess lost the Scotch industry quite £600m in exports.

The industry said it might now seek to rebuild exports to its largest market.

The agreement between the united kingdom and US comes two days after the ecu Union also agreed a truce with the US to finish their 17-year conflict over aircraft subsidies.

The Scotch industry had been hit with a 25% tariff on single malt by the administration of former US President Donald Trump, after both countries imposed tariffs within the trade row.

Other UK industries including cashmere and construction vehicles were also affected.

Boeing Dreamliner flies as A380-800 plane taxis (file picture)

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS

image captionThe row over subsidies to Boeing and Airbus lasted for 17 years

Karen Betts, chief executive of the Scotch Association (SWA), said the deal was “very excellent news for Scotch whisky”, after two “extremely damaging” years.

“What’s critical now’s that the governments and aerospace companies on each side stick with their commitments and work with each other constructively,” Ms Betts said.

Ms Betts said the SWA hoped tariffs on US whiskey coming into the united kingdom and EU as a results of a separate dispute on steel and aluminium might be “resolved quickly”.

Helen Brocklebank, chief executive of Walpole, which represents the likes of Alexander McQueen, Claridge’s and Harrods, said it looked forward to the deal “resulting within the permanent removal of those punitive tariffs, which should never are inflicted on the posh sector”.

Liz Truss

IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS

image captionLiz Truss said the deal would benefit jobs within the UK

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What is the Boeing-Airbus row about?

The dispute between the US and EU has escalated over a few years , with each side accusing the opposite of unfairly shoring their flagship planemakers.

In 2019, the planet Trade Organization ruled that the EU had illegally provided support to Airbus, clearing the way for the US to reply with tariffs worth up to $7.5bn (£5.4bn) in annual trade.

Roughly one year later, during a parallel case, it ruled that the US benefits to Boeing also violated trade rules, authorising the EU to hit the US with tariffs worth roughly $4bn.

Since then, each side have taken steps to get rid of the help found guilty .

The US and therefore the EU have taken a way more conciliatory stance within the 17-year dispute since President Biden took over from predecessor Donald Trump, who imposed tariffs on the EU.

UK officials hoped for compromise talks, casting the measure as an example of the advantages to the UK’s ability to act as an independent trading nation following Brexit.

In March, the US dropped tariffs on UK cheese, cashmere, machinery and Scotch , after the united kingdom had dropped its own tariffs on some US goods in January.

The agreement comes as US President Joe Biden tries to bolster support for his more assertive stance towards Russia and China, and move faraway from Trump-era trade rows.

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International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said the united kingdom -US deal would support jobs across the UK and was “fantastic news for major employers like Scotch and sectors like aerospace”.

She added that it meant the united kingdom could now specialise in taking its “trading relationship with the US to subsequent level”.

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said reaching an agreement with the united kingdom was a “great breakthrough for our special relationship”.

She said the deal was a “model we will build on” to make sure “fair competition and address common challenges from China and other non-market economies”.

Both Boeing and Airbus welcomed the truce. Airbus previously said that the agreement “will provide the idea to make a level-playing field which we’ve advocated for since the beginning of this dispute”.

SNP MP David Linden welcomed the removal of tariffs, but argued the united kingdom government had dragged its feet on the difficulty .

He said Scotch “should never are caught within the crossfire” of the trade dispute.

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Analysis box by Dharshini David, global trade correspondent

This announcement of a five-year truce within the aircraft dispute means relief for those eager to sell whisky, cashmere and Stilton across the Atlantic – but leaves bigger questions unanswered.

Attention during this row now switches to hammering out a permanent solution – and dealing together on what America see as a growing risk: whether China is playing fair because it strives for its economic goals.

But missing from today’s announcement was any indication of when talks on a UK free-trade affect America might resume.

Katharine Tai has been reviewing progress made by the Trump administration within the five rounds of talks thus far . She says her approach is “worker-centric” – suggesting that if the method continues, America is probably going to possess some big demands in areas like agriculture, which have yet to be tackled.

And it is a deal that the united kingdom is keen to capture because it flexes its post-Brexit ambitions. a few sixth of Britain’s trade is with America – quite 10 times the maximum amount like Australia, with whom a deal was struck earlier within the week. But there’s not much to suggest it’s moved up America’s to-do list.

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