Douglas Alexander says UK negotiating hard on whisky tariffs

A trade deal on Scotch whisky is "very high" on the list of agreements the UK Government is aiming to negotiate with the US, the Scottish Secretary has said.

Douglas Alexander stated that the UK Government is "negotiating hard" for the UK but emphasized that "Donald Trump doesn’t give gifts, Donald Trump does deals."

His remarks follow First Minister John Swinney’s visit to meet the US president at the White House earlier this week.

The visit occurred amid concerns from the Scotch whisky industry about the impact of tariffs – currently imposed at 10% on whisky exported from Scotland to the US. 

Mr. Alexander urged Mr. Swinney to set aside "political point scoring" and collaborate to secure a whisky trade deal with the US.

Mr. Trump is scheduled to arrive in the UK for a state visit next week.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland program, Mr. Alexander said: "We are negotiating hard for the United Kingdom, and I can assure listeners to Good Morning Scotland that the Scotch whisky industry is very high up that list, if not at the very top of that list, in terms of what we are looking and seeking to negotiate, because we have already got some form on this.

"We have just delivered a trade deal with India, which will see tariffs cut from about 150% first to 75% and then down to 40%, which will be transformative to export opportunities for Scotch whisky. 

"So frankly, we are working hard between now and the state visit, and as necessary beyond the state visit, to deliver for the whisky industry and all those who work in it here in Scotland."

In a statement released earlier on Friday, Mr. Alexander had said: "With President Trump’s state visit just days away, we all need to put Scotland’s economy first – not political point scoring."

Asked what he meant by suggesting Mr. Swinney was engaged in political point scoring, Mr. Alexander told the BBC: "When he said that he had put whisky on the agenda, with great respect, we’d already done a deal with India, where whisky was a central feature of that deal.

"But also, John Swinney knows that we had Peter Kyle on the ground in Washington on Monday. 

"We’ve had negotiators on the ground in Washington every day this week, and because we’ve shared that information with him, he’s fully aware that long before John Swinney arrived in the Oval Office, we were talking with and engaging with the US administration on the issue of whisky.

"So I welcome the fact that John was in Washington. Frankly, if we have divisions at home, we will be less influential abroad.

"But the reality is, we shouldn’t be playing politics with people’s jobs and the prospects of the Scotch whisky industry."

The Scottish Government is being asked for comment.

Speaking earlier in the week, Mr. Swinney said the US president had "listened carefully" to his arguments in what he described as a "very serious and a very substantial conversation." 

He added: "I want to be very clear, we did not conclude a deal – that work rests with the United Kingdom Government."

Mr. Swinney said he had "worked hard to create a platform for the UK Government to negotiate and deliver on Scotch whisky."