US President Donald Trump has announced he will remove all tariffs and restrictions on whisky imports following the state visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The move includes lifting barriers affecting Scotland’s ability to work with Kentucky’s bourbon industry.
Trump said the Royal visit “got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking”.
Industry representatives welcomed the decision, saying distillers would be able to “breathe a little easier during a period of significant pressure on the sector”.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said the King expressed his “sincere gratitude” and “will be raising a dram to the President's thoughtfulness”.
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney called it “tremendous news for Scotland”, adding: “Millions of pounds were being lost every month from the Scottish economy.”
The Scotch Whisky Association said the industry had been losing around £4million a week in exports due to tariffs, with director Graeme Littlejohn stating: “This is a real boost for the industry and distillers will breathe a sigh of relief now that these tariffs are off.”
UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle added: “This is great news for our scotch whisky industry, which is worth almost £1billion in exports and supports thousands of jobs across the UK.”