President Trump used the closing ceremony of the Irish Open golf tournament to announce he will remove the 10% U.S. tariff on Irish whiskey, a move that levels the playing field with U.K. spirits and could ease pressure on a market worth hundreds of millions of euros.
Trump made the announcement on September 13, 2026, at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg, Ireland, turning a trophy presentation into an impromptu trade-policy moment. The crowd cheered as he delivered the news, AP News reported, and the president framed the decision as a response to persistent lobbying from professional golfers and Ireland's Taoiseach, its head of government, Micheál Martin.
The tariff removal, if formally implemented, would eliminate a 10% levy on Irish whiskey that has been in place as part of broader duties on European Union imports. It follows an earlier decision by Trump to lift the same rate on U.K. whiskey, including Scotch and Northern Irish spirits, after King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited the United States in April. That earlier carve-out created a gap that put Irish distillers at a competitive disadvantage in the American market, which the Irish Whiskey Association says accounts for roughly 450 million euros in exports each year.
Trump did not bury the lede. Standing before the Irish Open audience, he described weeks of requests from golfers and Irish officials, then delivered the punchline.
USA Today reported his remarks:
"Everybody's been bugging me about this one thing: 'Would you do me a favor? It's so unfair what's going on. Could you possibly take the tariffs off of Irish whiskey?'"
He followed that with a declaration that drew audible applause from the gallery:
"On behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off."
Later that day, Trump clarified to reporters that the planned removal applies only to Irish whiskey, not to tariffs on other EU products. He did not specify a formal effective date or describe the legal mechanism he would use, whether an executive order, a presidential proclamation, or an agency directive.
The context matters. When Trump lifted the tariff on U.K. whiskey earlier this year, Irish distillers were left facing a levy their British and Scottish competitors no longer bore. Trump acknowledged the imbalance directly, noting that U.K. producers "already have it", the tariff break, and calling the continued duty on Irish whiskey "unfair."
Irish whiskey had initially faced a steeper 15% tariff as part of the broader EU duties. That rate was reduced to 10% in July, but even at the lower level, Irish producers were paying a tax that their U.K. counterparts had already shed. For an industry that sends nearly half a billion euros' worth of product to the American market annually, the gap was not academic.
Eoin Ó Catháin, director of the Irish Whiskey Association, welcomed the announcement in terms that underscored the stakes for Irish jobs and investment:
"The U.S. is our biggest market, it represents thousands of jobs, millions in investments and it has been under pressure over the last year and a bit because of that tariff. We're delighted to see it removed."
Trump's appearance at the tournament was itself a notable moment. He was the first sitting U.S. president to attend the Irish Open, the New York Post noted, and the event was held at his own golf resort in Doonbeg. The setting gave the announcement an informal, almost personal quality, a president fielding requests from golfers and a foreign leader, then delivering an answer on the spot.
Taoiseach Martin, who had personally asked Trump to lift the tariff, praised the broader relationship between the two countries. He told reporters that the visit reflected "the very strong relationship, the strength of an enduring relationship, between the United States of America and Ireland."
Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, framed the decision in domestic economic terms. "As U.S. hospitality businesses enter the critical holiday season, this action will provide a welcome boost for retailers, restaurants, consumers and the American economy," Swonger said.
For all the cheering in Doonbeg, the announcement remains a verbal commitment. Trump did not sign an executive order, issue a proclamation, or set a date. The precedent with U.K. whiskey offers a rough guide: Trump first announced that tariff removal on Truth Social, and it took approximately two months, until July 24, before it formally took effect.
If the Irish whiskey removal follows a similar timeline, American importers, bars, and retailers could see relief before the end of 2026. But until the paperwork is signed, the commitment exists only as a presidential promise made at a golf tournament.
Several questions remain unanswered. Can the president remove the tariff on a single product from one EU member state without broader trade consequences? Will the EU seek reciprocal concessions? And will the removal require any congressional involvement, or can it be done unilaterally through executive authority? None of those questions were addressed on Saturday, Just The News reported.
What is clear is the pattern. Trump has now used tariff policy twice this year as a goodwill gesture tied to personal diplomacy, once after a royal visit, and once at his own golf course in Ireland. Both times, the beneficiaries were whiskey producers. Both times, the mechanism was a public announcement first, formal action later.
If you are going to use tariffs as leverage, using them to reward allies, open markets, and put American consumers first is exactly the right way to do it.