Michael Clancy from Lough Ree Distillery in Lanesboro, Co Longford gave a cautious welcome to US President Donald Trump’s recent tariff announcement.
The US leader used his speech yesterday at the Irish Open prizegiving ceremony in Doonbeg to announce he is to remove tariffs from Irish whiskey.
He told the crowd who had congregated on the 18th green that he had spoken with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Irish Open winner Shane Lowry about US tariffs on Irish whiskey.
“I think we cautiously welcome it but the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” Mr Clancy said.
“We hope it will happen and I was listening to Olaf Gill earlier and he said there are a lot of products on the list that they would like to see tariffs lifted from,” he added.
Mr Clancy explained that even though they are only a small producer, they have been impacted by the 10% tariffs on Irish whiskey.
“For us, it has meant that some big opportunities for our business have been put on hold so hopefully this will allow those projects to proceed,” he added.
Pat Cooney, of Boann Distillery, said the news about the tariffs on whiskey is not exactly a game changer, but certainly very significant and very welcome news.
Prior to Mr Trump’s announcement, he said the American market was down more than 5% last year and is trending more than 5% this year.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Mr Cooney said, “The American market is the biggest market for Irish whiskey. It takes about 40% to 43% of all Irish whiskey, so it is very important indeed.”
He also said production costs had gone up because of energy prices and inflation.
“The price of gas is a serious cost for the business and shipping rates have gone through the roof and it’s difficult to get shipping. It’s a little bit of welcome news in the midst of a very difficult environment,” Mr Cooney added.
Mary Sadlier of Coole Swan said the announcement by President Trump is a source of irritation because her product does not qualify for an exemption.
“So no reason for hope. I don’t believe it could be extended to Irish cream, sadly,” she said.
The Coole Swan product has whiskey in it but does not qualify for the removal of tariffs due to the tariff lanes and classification.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Ms Sadlier said the US is “very strict about whiskey”, adding that “they have a very specific classification in the US drafted with the Irish government about what is Irish whiskey.”
“So they wouldn’t even classify an Irish whiskey liqueur, where you might be adding honey or something to it and it’s a liqueur, they will not allow that in,” she added.
She said the tariffs are an immediate cost hit to the bottle.
“It’s $2 for us per bottle with the recent tariff rate. Nobody likes to pay more for any product. It is at the behest of the various governments.”
“Whiskey is a very big product particularly in the US market but it’s a bit disappointing because Irish cream is a very uniquely Irish product.
“You have to have very specific ingredients known to be an Irish cream liqueur so it’s a bit disappointing it isn’t remembered when we come to this discussion” she added.