President Trump stood on Irish soil and promised to wipe out America’s tariff on Irish whiskey, and the crowd at the Irish Open roared before he even finished the sentence.
Story Snapshot
- Trump announced the tariff removal Sept. 13, 2026, at the closing ceremony of the Irish Open in Doonbeg, County Clare, held at his own golf resort.
- He said, “On behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off” Irish whiskey, drawing loud cheers and applause.
- Taoiseach Micheál Martin and professional golfers, including Shane Lowry, had personally pushed him to make the move.
- Reports describe the current tariff as either 10 percent or 15 percent, and no formal customs order had been issued at the time of the announcement.
What Trump Actually Said in Doonbeg
Trump made the announcement in front of fans gathered at Trump International Golf Links and Hotel as the tournament wrapped up. He told the crowd, “Everybody’s been bugging me… Could you possibly take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey?” Then he delivered the line that set off the cheers: “On behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off.”
Reuters, Politico, the New York Times, the Associated Press, ITV, and Al Jazeera all reported the same core moment from the same event on the same day. Politico called it a crowd-pleaser at the closing ceremony, and the New York Times described loud applause echoing across the course as fans realized what they’d just heard.
Who Asked Him to Act
The announcement did not come out of nowhere. Trump said he had been getting pressure from multiple directions, naming Ireland’s Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, along with professional golfers who had raised the issue with him directly. Shane Lowry, fresh off his win at the tournament, was among those tied to the request in reporting on the moment.
That detail matters. This wasn’t a policy dropped from a briefing memo. It was a direct response to people asking him face to face, at an event on his own property, in front of a crowd that clearly wanted to hear yes. Trump gave it to them on the spot, a style of dealmaking that has defined much of his approach to trade since returning to office.
The Tariff Rate and Its Tangled History
Most reporting, including Reuters, ITV, and Associated Press coverage, described the tariff at 10 percent. Al Jazeera and a widely viewed New York Post video summary put it at 15 percent instead.
The discrepancy likely traces back to a real, complicated timeline. Irish whiskey had faced a 10 percent duty under a narrower trade mechanism earlier in 2026, before a broader European Union trade agreement folded most EU goods, including spirits, into a flat 15 percent ceiling. Whichever number applied at the exact moment Trump spoke, both rates trace back to the same underlying EU-US trade fight that has run hot and cold since 2018, when tariffs and counter-tariffs hit everything from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to single malt Scotch.
What Happens Next, And What’s Still Missing
Later the same day, Trump clarified the scope of his promise to reporters. He said he plans to remove the tariff on Irish whiskey specifically, not on other European Union products still covered by the broader trade agreement.
Sláinte! Trump Scraps 10% Tariff on All Irish Whiskey as Parting Gift ~ https://t.co/3DGFexnZlM
— MikeKirby (@mikekirbyone) September 14, 2026
He did not say when the change would take effect, and no executive order, Federal Register notice, or Customs and Border Protection guidance had surfaced publicly at the time of the announcement. That’s normal. Presidents routinely announce trade decisions in public before the paperwork catches up, and Trump has a track record of moving fast on tariff pledges tied to allies and industries he considers deserving of relief.
For Irish distillers, the announcement lands as welcome news after years of whiplash. The industry has lived through a zero-tariff era from 1997 to 2018, a retaliatory 25 percent hit tied to the Airbus-Boeing dispute, and now a stretch under the broader EU trade framework. Whatever the final rate turns out to be, Trump handed Ireland’s whiskey makers something they’d been chasing for months: a public commitment, delivered by name, in front of the people who asked for it.
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, aljazeera.com, nytimes.com, essentiallysports.com, forth.news
