Swinney: Trump talks give 'real chance' for whisky deal

Scotland has a “real chance” of a better US whisky deal, John Swinney has said.

Worth around £1bn annually, the USA is the largest export market for Scotch but the product has been hit by tariffs introduced by Donald Trump as part of sweeping trade measures.

The Republican president announced a 10 per cent rate on most UK imports, something the Scotch Whisky Association says is costing the sector £4m every week.

Swinney flew to Washington for a meeting with Trump earlier this week. At a Bute House press conference today, he insisted he had not negotiated with the US leader, with trade deals reserved to Westminster.

However, he raised hopes of a new deal for whisky and piled pressure on the UK Government to deliver.

Swinney said: “A better deal for whisky was not previously on the agenda, and it now very much is.

“But the ball is firmly in the UK Government's court. They must press on with the detailed negotiations and try to get a deal over the line.”

Swinney said Trump had “listened carefully to Scotland’s case”.

The two met in Scotland in July, when Trump was in the country on a private visit to open a golf course at his Menie resort. After that encounter, Trump described the SNP leader as a “special guy” who “loves golf and loves the people of this country”.

The Oval Office meeting lasted 50 minutes. Swinney said Trump had taken his arguments “very seriously” and movement on tariffs would be a “win-win” for both countries, with Scottish whisky makers spending hundreds of millions on used bourbon casks every year.