The King and Queen have succeeded where politicians failed after President Trump agreed to scrap tariffs on British whisky exports to the US.

国王和王后成功做到了政客们未能做到的事情，此前特朗普总统同意取消对美国出口的英国威士忌的关税。

Ministers had spent months trying to persuade the president to scrap the 10 per cent levy he placed on whisky from the UK last year, which has affected sales in the industry's biggest export market. Despite lobbying by Sir Keir Starmer and the Scottish first minister, John Swinney, Trump refused to include whisky among the products to have tariff-free access to US markets as part of the UK's trade agreement with the US.

部长们花了数月时间试图说服总统取消他去年对英国威士忌征收的10%的关税，这影响了该行业在其最大出口市场的销售。 尽管基尔·斯塔默爵士和苏格兰首席大臣约翰·斯温尼进行了游说，特朗普仍拒绝将威士忌列入作为英美贸易协定一部分而能免关税进入美国市场的产品中。

In a win for royal diplomacy, Trump announced he was making the concession to mark the end of the King and Queen's state visit.

作为王室外交的一次胜利，特朗普宣布他做出这一让步，以纪念国王和王后国事访问的结束。

"In Honor of the King and Queen of the United Kingdom, who have just left the White House, soon headed back to their wonderful Country, I will be removing the Tariffs and Restrictions on Whiskey," he wrote on Truth Social. "People have wanted to do this for a long time. The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!"

“为纪念刚刚离开白宫、即将返回他们美好国家的联合王国国王和王后，我将取消对威士忌的关税和限制，”他在“真相社交”上写道。 “人们早就想这么做了。 国王和王后让我做成了一件别人都做不到的事，而且他们几乎都没怎么开口要求！”

Trump said in the Oval Office that Kentucky and Scotland had "trade for years and years and years" and "a lot of different restrictions … and it really stopped them".

特朗普在总统办公室表示，肯塔基州和苏格兰“进行了多年、多年、多年的贸易”，并且“有许多不同的限制……这真的阻碍了他们”。

He added: "They use the barrels from the one to take care of the other and the barrels are only good for one year, it makes it a better substance. In other words, they can't be used twice. They can only be used once, but the once makes it a better substance. I'm not a big drinker, so forgive me. But it makes … a better taste.

他补充道：“他们用一个（肯塔基州的）桶来处理另一个（苏格兰的）产品，这些桶只能用一年，这让它成为一种更好的物质。 换句话说，它们不能被使用两次。 它们只能被使用一次，但这一次使它成为一种更好的物质。 我不是个能喝酒的人，所以请原谅我。 但它会产生……更好的口感。

"I just took all the restrictions off, so Scotland and Kentucky can start dealing again. I did it in honour of the King and Queen who just left, they're heading back, and it was a big deal. They've been trying to get this for a long time."

“我刚刚取消了所有限制，这样苏格兰和肯塔基州就能重新开始贸易了。 我这样做是为了纪念刚刚离开、正在返回途中的国王和王后，这是一件大事。 他们已经为此努力了很久。”

In 2024 the UK exported £971 million of whisky to the US, which was almost 10 per cent down on the same figure five years ago.

2024年，英国向美国出口了9.71亿英镑的威士忌，比五年前的同额数字下降了近10%。

The tariffs cost £3 million in lost exports to the US every week, according to estimates by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). Exports to the US fell by about 15 per cent after the tariffs were introduced in April 2025.

根据苏格兰威士忌协会的估计，这些关税每周给对美出口造成300万英镑的损失。 在2025年4月关税被引入后，对美出口下降了约15%。

The industry was hit not just by Trump's most recent tariffs but also by the trade war with Europe in his first term, which resulted in charges increasing to 25 per cent. If a deal had not been struck these were due to have been reimposed in June.

该行业不仅受到特朗普最新关税的打击，还受到他第一任期内与欧洲贸易战的影响，后者导致关税增加到了25%。 如果没有达成协议，这些关税原定于6月被重新征收。

Peter Kyle, the trade secretary, said it was "great news" that would support "thousands of jobs across the UK". He said: "I have been advocating for lower tariffs on key exports like whisky to protect vital jobs and iconic British brands while strengthening our relationship with the US."

贸易大臣彼得·凯尔表示，这是“好消息”，将支持“英国各地的数千个工作岗位”。 他说：“我一直在倡导降低威士忌等关键出口产品的关税，以保护重要的就业岗位和标志性的英国品牌，同时加强我们与美国的关系。”

Politicians may find it hard to claim much credit for Trump's largesse. When relations were better, Starmer met Trump at his Turnberry golf club last summer and the best he got out of the president was a pledge to "take a look" at whisky tariffs. "We'll talk about that," he said. "I didn't know whisky was a problem. I'm not a big whisky drinker, but maybe I should be."

政客们可能会发现很难因特朗普的慷慨而邀功。 在关系较好的时候，斯塔默去年夏天在特朗普的坦伯利高尔夫俱乐部与他会面，他从总统那里得到的最好结果就是一个“考虑一下”威士忌关税的承诺。 “我们会谈谈这个，”他说。 “我不知道威士忌是个问题。 我不是个威士忌的大饮者，但也许我应该是。”

A similar lobbying exercise by Swinney when he visited the White House was also unsuccessful. Mark Kent, chief executive of the SWA, said: "This deal is a significant boost for the Scotch whisky industry in our most valuable export market. Distillers can breathe a little easier during a period of significant pressure on the sector.

斯温尼在访问白宫时进行的类似游说活动也未获成功。 苏格兰威士忌协会首席执行官马克·肯特表示：“这笔交易对我们最有价值的出口市场中的苏格兰威士忌行业来说是一个重大的提振。 在该行业面临巨大压力的时期，酿酒商们可以稍微松一口气了。

"We are hugely grateful for the sustained efforts on both sides of the Atlantic. For months, many have worked tirelessly to return zero-for-zero tariff trade for whisky and bourbon. The special relationship that the Scotch whisky and American whiskey industries share will be reinvigorated by this announcement.

“我们非常感谢大西洋两岸的持续努力。 几个月来，许多人为恢复威士忌和波本威士忌的零关税对等贸易而不懈努力。 这一声明将重振苏格兰威士忌和美国威士忌行业之间的特殊关系。

"While challenges in our sector remain, we can now redouble our efforts to boost the benefits our two great industries bring to communities across Scotland and the US."

“虽然我们行业内的挑战依然存在，但我们现在可以加倍努力，提升我们这两个伟大的行业给苏格兰和美国各地社区带来的益处。”

The King is known to be fond of whisky and sells his own Highgrove Organic Single Malt Scotch. His favourite is said to be Laphroaig 15-year-old Scotch, which is described as "a pungent smoke-and-seaweed Islay dram'. In 1994 it became the only single malt awarded the Prince of Wales's royal warrant.

众所周知，国王喜爱威士忌，并出售他自己的海格罗夫有机单一麦芽苏格兰威士忌。 据说他最喜欢的是拉弗格15年苏格兰威士忌，这款酒被描述为“一款带有浓烈烟熏和海藻味的艾雷岛dram（一小杯威士忌）”。 1994年，它成为唯一一款获得威尔士亲王王室认证的单一麦芽威士忌。

Ministers insisted that, while the King played a "blinder", a lot of heavy lifting was done behind the scenes by government officials to get the announcement over the line for the visit.

部长们坚称，虽然国王发挥了“关键作用”，但政府官员在幕后做了大量艰苦的工作，才得以在此次访问期间宣布这一消息。

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