THE Prime Minister reportedly failed to bring up the threat of new American tariffs on whisky exports from Scotland in his first call with Donald Trump.
This weekend, Keir Starmer spoke with the new US president over the phone for the first time since Trump took office.
The two men spoke for 45 minutes on Sunday, in a discussion that Downing Street said covered trade, the economy and the Middle East.
But the conversation did not cover some hot button issues – including Trump’s repeated threats to impose tariffs on its trade partners, The Guardian reports.
There is mounting fear that Trump may slap import duties on Scotch whisky – something he did in 2019 during his last presidency.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said that the 25% tariff imposed last time contributed to the industry losing £600 million over the 18 months it was in place.
Exports to the US fell by 25% in the last three months of 2019.
The Herald on Sunday reported last year that the SWA had made representations to US politicians urging them to oppose tariffs on whisky.
Other issues not discussed included the controversial Chagos Islands deal and Trump’s desire to have Nato allies spent 5% of GDP on defence, according to Downing Street.
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said: “It was a very warm call, and it was very constructive.”
They added: “There’s a wide range of areas that we look forward to working on with President Trump and his entire team to build on our already very strong and deep relationship, whether it’s on trade, investment, whether it’s on security and defence, and the Prime Minister looks forward to meeting him soon.”
First Minister John Swinney (above) said in November following Trump’s election victory that he was “very concerned” about tariffs being imposed in Scotch whisky.
Earlier this month, the First Minister said he would attempt to capitalise on Trump’s connection with Scotland through his heritage, in a bid to avoid levies on whisky.
