Irish whiskey sector under threat from Trump, Doherty says

Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty has warned that the Irish whiskey sector could soon be “on the rocks.”

With Donald Trump’s second term being dominated by talks of tariffs and trade tensions, the Dublin MEP has now called on the European Commission to continue taking a “calm, strategic approach” against Trump.

“Irish exports are once again at risk of being caught in the middle of a trade war that we did not start and will not benefit from,” Doherty said.

Trump’s proposed tariffs on whiskey would “hit Irish producers hard,” said Doherty, noting that Irish distilleries that rely on the U.S. as their biggest market.”

“We don’t want Irish businesses to become trade war casualties,” she said.

Doherty acknowledges that a proposed 50% tariff on goods traded between the EU and the US from 1 April will not be happening, following reports that President Donald Trump had threatened retaliation with tariffs as high as 200%. “This delay is a relief for Irish producers but it is only a delay,” she said.

“Tariffs are good for nobody. They damage relationships, disrupt jobs, and are extremely difficult to unwind once they’re in place,” Doherty continued. “We need a strategic, measured response — not a move that could do long-term harm to key sectors like Irish whiskey. We must stand together and ensure that the proposed tariffs do not succeed in dividing and conquering the EU Member States.”

Doherty has called on the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefcovic, to engage in urgent dialogue with U.S. counterparts and to ensure that small EU exporters are spared as much as possible and that any trade war does not last for a long time.