UK whisky exports gain tariff-free U.S. access

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UK whisky gains US tariff-free access

Highlights

U.S. removes tariffs on UK whisky exports effective immediately, enabling duty-free access to the UK’s largest export market worth £1 billion in 2025.
The new agreement preserves the UK’s Economic Prosperity Deal and extends zero tariffs to medical technology, despite new U.S. global tariffs announced today.
The India free trade agreement, effective July, reduces whisky tariffs from 150% to 75% immediately and to 40% over 10 years, supporting sector growth.

Tariff removal strengthens transatlantic whisky trade

As reported by GOV.UK, the tariff change takes effect immediately and gives UK distillers duty-free access to their largest market by value. The government says whisky exports to the U.S. were worth £1 billion in 2025, representing almost 20% of all whisky exported from the UK.

Secretary of State for Scotland Douglas Alexander marks the milestone with a visit to Pernod Ricard’s Strathclyde Distillery in Glasgow. He says the removal of U.S. tariffs opens new opportunities for growth for Scottish whisky and highlights closer trade cooperation between the UK and the U.S.

The government also says the U.S. decision keeps the UK’s Economic Prosperity Deal in place despite a new round of global tariffs announced by Washington today. Under the same arrangement, zero tariffs also apply to medical technology.

Industry expects support for jobs and investment

The whisky industry supports 41,000 jobs in Scotland and another 25,000 across the UK, according to the Scotch Whisky Association. Industry executives say the return to tariff-free trade should improve confidence to invest, expand exports and support supply chains across distilling, farming, hospitality and retail.

Nodjame Fouad, chief executive of Pernod Ricard’s Aged Spirits and Champagne division, says improved market access can help secure economic growth in Scotland and across the UK. Ian Duddy, international director at the Scotch Whisky Association, says the move benefits businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, from Kentucky to Speyside.

The U.S. tariff removal is the latest in a series of trade gains highlighted by the UK government this month. The India free trade agreement, which comes into force earlier in July, cuts whisky tariffs from 150% to 75% immediately and then to 40% over the next 10 years, while the government also points to recent deals involving China, the Gulf Co-operation Council and the EU.

Our earlier article on the new U.S. Section 301 tariff regime explained how Washington is shifting from temporary worldwide duties to a country-by-country framework covering 60 trade partners, changing effective tariff rates across regions. We also noted that the redesigned structure aims to reduce legal vulnerability after the Supreme Court struck down earlier tariffs and is intended not to stack on top of certain existing levies, influencing how exporters in Europe and the UK are affected.

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