‘Why we are just getting started with the Scotch whisky tariff suspension’
am proud, having spent many of my formative years in Scotland, to be bringing the benefits of free and fair trade to every part of the United Kingdom.
Today I am seeing those benefits for myself by visiting key Scottish businesses, which can now gain from the agreement we struck with the United States to remove tariffs on our exports of whisky and cashmere.
Suspending tariffs on £550 million worth of UK exports makes Scotland’s finest goods even better value for consumers in the huge American market. Boosting exports to the UK’S single largest trading partner means more money for Scot
tish businesses, from distilleries like Cardhu to knitwear makers like Johnstons of Elgin, to invest in their staff and future growth.
On average, over three bottles of Scotch whisky are shipped to the US every second.
It is estimated the industry supports around 50,000 jobs across the UK. That shows how widely the benefits of these newly suspended tariffs will be felt.
This builds on our ongoing work to help businesses thrive across the Atlantic. We saved our exports of gin and beer last year from new tariffs and removed them altogether on exports of shortbread – in good news for companies like Walkers
and its 4,000 employees.
We know that trade equals jobs, as new research released earlier this week
made clear.
The Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde estimati ed that nearly 6.5 million jobs across the UK relied on exports.
Most of the jobs – 3.7 million – are supported by exports to nations beyond Europe, which shows the importance of embracing our global future.
Three in four of these trade-linked jobs are found outside London, including around 468,000 in Scotland.
They are also more productive and higher paying, which shows that exporting is key to levelling up the UK by supporting high-quality jobs in well-paid industries.
Together, we are strengthening the bonds of our Union by showing the benefits of being a United Kingdom.