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Donald Trump says he will remove tariffs from Irish whiskey during his prizegiving speech at the Amgen Irish Open.
Whiskey distilled in the Republic of Ireland previously faced a 15% tariff which was slapped on EU goods entering the US.
But as he presented the Amgen Irish Open trophy to winner Shane Lowry on the 18th green of his course at Doonbeg, Co Clare, the US President said he had discussed the matter with Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Crowds cheered and chanted “USA” as he told them: “Everybody’s been bugging me. They are saying would you do me a favour? It’s so unfair what’s going on.
“Could you possibly take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey and I said, on behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey.”
Tariffs are effectively a tax on trade, applied to goods as they enter a country. The charge is paid by the domestic company that imports the goods, not the foreign company that exports them.
But the burden can ultimately fall on the exporting firm if it has to cut its prices or finds that it is less competitive in that market.
The Irish whiskey market in the US is dominated by Jameson, which has a market share estimated at around 70%.
Earlier this year, Trump cut tariffs on whiskey distilled in Northern Ireland. He announced he was dropping the charges on all UK-distilled whiskey after meeting the King and Queen during a state visit to the US.
It comes after the Orange Manbaby sparked controversy during his visit to the Emerald Isle by saying he would “love to see” a united Ireland.
He later doubled down on the comments when quizzed by reporters, saying: “It’s going to happen eventually.”
He added: “I have always loved the people of Ireland and it just seems to me that you have Northern Ireland and you have Ireland and it would seem to me that one of the naturals of all time is put them together.
“That’s only my opinion. Many people agree. I made what I considered to be a fairly routine comment, I have had so much support on that.”
Asked about Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s remarks that there would be no poll on Irish unity until a majority in Northern Ireland were likely to vote in favour, Mr Trump added: “Everybody says that and then things happen.”
Trump handed over the winner’s trophy at the Trump International golf resort in Doonbeg before flying back to the US at the end of a two-day itinerary.
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