‘Irish Whiskey Global’ report launched
More international trade deals are key to the continued growth of the Irish Whiskey industry. That’s according to a new report launched by the Irish Whiskey Association. ‘Irish Whiskey Global’ is the Association’s inaugural international trade report which highlights priorities for future trade deals, including:
- A permanent end to all transatlantic trade disputes, building on recent positive developments.
- Reform of both the rules-of-origin for whiskey and territoriality rules in all EU and UK trade agreements to protect and facilitate the Irish whiskey industry’s cross-border supply chain on the island of Ireland.
- Inclusion of tariff reductions in both EU and UK trade negotiations with India.
- Elimination of outstanding discriminatory levies and mark-ups in in Canada.
- Ratification of the CETA agreement by Dáil Éireann and conclusion and ratification of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.
- Expansion of tariff-free trade to more African markets and progression of trade agreement negotiations with Thailand.
- Facilitation of spirits e-commerce in future trade agreements.
Political Response
In recognition of Irish whiskey’s prominence as an all-island industry, the Report was jointly launched by Ireland’s Minister for State for Trade Promotion, Robert Troy TD and the UK’s Minister for Exports, Graham Stuart MP.
Robert Troy T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation stated: “I welcome the inaugural International Trade Report of the Irish Whiskey Association. Irish whiskey is currently experiencing a significant revival and is now one the fastest growing spirits in the world. As Minister for Trade Promotion, I continue to actively engage with business across sectors on fostering and developing our global trading relationships. The Government continues to work towards establishing new trade relationships with our global partners which hopefully will provide more market opportunities for our world-renowned Whiskey producers.”
Irish Whiskey Global
Commenting on the report, William Lavelle, Head of the Irish Whiskey Association, stated: “Looking to the future, the Irish whiskey industry can confidently target more growth in more markets, across more sales channels and among more consumer segments. But now, more than ever, international trade policy will be critical to supporting growth and diversification.”
In 2020, 11.4 million cases (137 million bottles of Irish whiskey) were sold around the world, a slight decrease on 2019, but still exceeding expectations for what was a challenging year.
The report sets-out how Irish whiskey exports have benefited from recent positive developments on the international trade front including:
- The lifting of the 25% US tariff on Northern Irish single malts.
- Further reductions in recent months to Canadian provincial levies on Irish whiskey as a result of the CETA agreement, with an overall 66% growth in sales in Canada from 2017-2020 supported by CETA.
- New protections for the Irish whiskery geographical indication (GI) as a result of EU bilateral agreements with China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.
- The elimination or phasing-out of tariffs across the Southern African Development Community and in other markers including Colombia, South Korea and Vietnam as a result of EU trade deals; and in Australia (for Northern Irish whiskey) as a result of the new UK trade agreement.
