Boris Johnson has urged President Donald Trump to lift the punitive tariffs on whisky and clothing after industry bosses warned they were starting to “feel the strain”.
The United States imposed 25% tariffs on British food and drink exports last month as retaliation for the European Union’s illegal subsidies to plane-maker Airbus.
The Scottish Whisky Association (SWA) has said the industry could lose as much as 20% of its sales to the US, currently worth £1 billion, in the next 12 months if the tariffs remain.
Mr Johnson raised the matter in a call with the president on Tuesday night.
A Downing Street source said: “The prime minister urged the president to lift tariffs on goods including Scotch Whisky and, ahead of a US decision on additional tariffs, urged him not to impose tariffs on car exports.”
The talks came as speculation mounted Mr Johnson would announce a spirit duty review on a visit to a distillery in Moray today in a bid to offset the costs of the tariffs.
Karen Betts, chief executive of the SWA, said the developments were “encouraging” and called for the issue to “remain high on the government’s agenda”.
She said: “It’s very important the 25% tariff is removed, not least since Scotch Whisky is paying 62% of the UK’s tariff liability – a bill that is not ours to pay.
“We continue to ask the UK government for greater clarity on how they plan to address the tariffs on UK products more broadly.
“We have been clear that tariffs must be lifted before US-UK negotiations begin on a trade deal. Not to do so would sell our industry short.
“In the meantime, the Scotch Whisky industry and its supply chain is feeling the strain of a 25% tariff on single malt exports to the US.
“Smaller producers, many of whom only produce single malt, are being hit the hardest.
“Removal of these tariffs is our clear priority.”
Simon Cotton, Johnstons of Elgin’s chief executive, has seen his firm’s cashmere sales impacted by the tariffs.
“We are currently absorbing 25% tariff on sales of knitwear to the US,” he said.
“Obviously this is not something that we can continue indefinitely and it is an additional strain on the business in a challenging market.”
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead said businesses were “very fearful for their future”.
He said: “The main concern is the significant impact on the smaller distilleries and on those for who rely on the US market.
“They are very fearful for their future because they either simply pass the tariff on to the price of a bottle and lose customers and competitiveness or they absorb it and lose profit.”