By Bill Heaney
First Minister John Swinney will don his kilt and swagger through New York behind a pipe band this weekend in a bid to persuade US President Donald Trump, whose mother was born in the Outer Hebrides, to take his foot off the throat off the Scotch whisky industry.
And lift the ten per cent tariff he has imposed on around £4 billion of goods exported to the United States from Scotland each year.
Scotland’s Tory leader Russell Findlay, who is being accused by Holyrood colleagues, including Jamie Green, a moderate who today announced he was resigning the Conservative Whip stating that the party had moved too far to the right, asked John Swinney: “Scotland exports around £4 billion of goods to the United States each year—it is our largest export destination.
“Donald Trump’s tariffs will cause significant harm to many of our industries, including food and drink, textiles, engineering and pharmaceuticals.
“Will the First Minister instruct the Government and its business agencies to do whatever they can to support businesses and protect Scottish jobs?”
First Minister John Swinney, Ballantine’s Finest, a product of Dumbarton-based Chivas Brothers, and Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay.
It was a no brainer for the SNP leader, who replied: “That is absolutely what the Scottish Government and our enterprise agencies are doing. On all occasions, we work with the business community to strengthen the economic prospects of and opportunities for Scotland.
“The imposition of tariffs is not good news. It will be damaging for economic activity not only in Scotland and the United Kingdom but across the world. What was applied yesterday will also have negative implications for the population of the United States.
“We will, of course, engage with the United Kingdom Government, which carries the responsibility for international trade as part of the constitutional settlement. We have been engaging for some time, and we will continue to do so as part of our efforts to promote and protect Scottish business.”
But Russell Findlay persisted: “The Scottish Chambers of Commerce says that many of our firms will now struggle to survive. The US is the largest overseas market for Scotch whisky, which is worth almost £1 billion in annual sales. When US tariffs on Scotch were introduced, six years ago, they cost the industry £600 million in lost sales.
“Deploying some diplomatic understatement, the Scotch Whisky Association says that it is ‘disappointed’ by the new tariffs.
“Help is needed. Those tariffs follow an increase in whisky duty that was imposed by the UK Government six months ago. Will the Scottish Government back my call for the UK Labour Government to lower its record-high tax on whisky?”
“Significant issues affect the Scotch whisky industry [which has a large presence in West Dunbartonshire, where it employs 1,500 local people].
“That is why the Government has had extensive dialogue with the Scotch Whisky Association, and it is why I will be engaging with it when I am in the United States over the next few days to mark Tartan Week.
“I assure Mr Findlay that the Government will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that we take forward the concerns of the industry and will work with the United Kingdom Government and the industry to protect its prospects, given that it contributes very significantly to the economic wellbeing of Scotland.”
However, Russell Findlay was unconvinced: “When I speak with representatives of the Scotch whisky industry, they tell me that it is the Scottish Government that they are worried about. We need to maximise the opportunities for Scottish businesses to sell their products abroad, which will help to grow our economy and to fund public services.
“Last year, the Scottish Government announced a USA export plan to identify the best opportunities for Scottish businesses, but within months it was cancelled. We called that decision short-sighted at the time. Was it a mistake? Ahead of his trip to New York for Tartan Week, will John Swinney reverse that decision and produce a new USA export plan?”
“I can assure Mr Findlay that the Scottish Government will take forward the interests of Scottish industry in all that we do.
“We will look at the opportunities to promote our products overseas, and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with Scottish industry as we promote our important products to overseas markets.”
This week, Scottish families faced more tax rises because of the Scottish National Party and Labour. Our analysis shows that an average person’s bill will rise by around £1,000 because of higher income tax, national insurance, energy costs, train fares, water bills and council tax.
“The cost of tariffs surely makes it vital for John Swinney to look at lowering the burden on hard-working Scots and businesses—will he do so?”
The First Minister was unwavering in his answer: “The budget that the Scottish Government has successfully put to Parliament, and which is now going to be implemented, involves more than £700 million of business rate reductions for companies in Scotland, and that is just one of the pro-business measures in the Scottish Government’s budget.
“There is also the investment that we make in the enterprise agencies and in our representation overseas, which, of course, the Conservatives are opposed to.
“Mr Findlay makes his call for business tax reductions, but he also made a call in the budget for income tax reductions, which would reduce public expenditure by £1 billion and would undermine the investment that we are making in the economy.
“I can reassure Mr Findlay that the Scottish Government has taken forward an economic agenda that has seen gross domestic product per person in Scotland grow by 10.3 per cent, compared with 6 per cent in the United Kingdom.
“That is the record of a Government that is investing in the economy to boost economic performance and to create jobs and wealth in this country. That is what my Government is all about, and that is what we are delivering for people in Scotland.”
Top of page: The Chivas Brothers plant at Kilmalid in Dumbarton, which employs more than 1,000 people. Picture by Bill Heaney