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President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he plans to eliminate the 10% U.S. tariff on Irish whiskey, unveiling the decision during the trophy ceremony at the Irish Open in Doonbeg after receiving repeated appeals from Irish officials and golfers to remove the levy.

Trump made the announcement as he wrapped up his visit to Ireland, telling spectators that the issue had been raised with him repeatedly, including by Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin and Irish Open champion Shane Lowry.

“Everybody’s been bugging me” to do it, the Republican president said. “And I said, ‘On behalf of the United States of America, I am going to take the tariffs off’” of Irish whiskey.

Irish whiskey is currently subject to the general tariff Trump imposed on most imports from the European Union. That rate, previously 15%, was lowered to 10% in July.

The issue had become particularly significant for Ireland after Trump announced in April that certain tariffs on whiskey imported from the United Kingdom would be eliminated. Because the U.K. includes Northern Ireland, the change meant Scotch whisky and spirits produced in Northern Ireland received tariff-free treatment while whiskey produced in the Republic of Ireland continued to face a U.S. import duty.

Trump’s unexpected announcement Sunday drew loud cheers and whistles from spectators attending the tournament. The President did not immediately provide details about when the tariff exemption for Irish whiskey would formally take effect.

The move was quickly welcomed by representatives of the spirits industry.

Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, described Trump’s decision as “another positive step toward reducing barriers to spirits trade” and said the change would benefit businesses and consumers as the holiday shopping and hospitality season approaches.

“As U.S. hospitality businesses enter the critical holiday season, this action will provide a welcome boost for retailers, restaurants, consumers and the American economy,” Swonger said.

Ireland’s whiskey industry had been pressing the Trump administration for months to eliminate the tariff. In May, the Irish Whiskey Association publicly called for its removal, arguing that tariffs on Irish spirits also harmed American companies whose portfolios include Irish brands and created additional uncertainty for U.S. consumers.

The United States is a particularly important market for Irish whiskey, accounting for a substantial portion of the industry’s exports. The tariff disparity with U.K.-produced whiskey had therefore generated concern among Irish producers about their ability to compete in the American market.

Trump had previously attributed his decision to grant tariff relief to U.K. whiskey to a White House visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

“The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!” Trump posted on social media.

The Scotch Whisky Association subsequently announced on July 24 that the zero-tariff treatment for Scotch had formally taken effect.

Sunday’s announcement would remove the disparity by extending tariff-free treatment to Irish whiskey as well, although the administration had not yet released the details or timetable necessary to implement Trump’s pledge.

The announcement came at the conclusion of the Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, where Trump attended the final round and participated in the trophy ceremony. His official schedule listed his attendance at the tournament before his return to Washington.

Lowry, who won the tournament, was among those Trump said had personally raised the whiskey tariff issue with him. The President’s decision therefore provided an unexpected policy coda to the golf tournament: after months of lobbying by Ireland’s whiskey industry and government officials, Trump used the trophy presentation to announce that the 10% levy would be coming off.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stark warning to European nations on Friday, declaring that the deployment of European troops to Ukraine would trigger a direct military confrontation with Russia as Western governments discuss possible security guarantees for Kyiv following an eventual end to the war.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, where he was attending the BRICS summit, Putin responded to proposals under consideration by European countries to establish an international military presence designed to protect Ukraine following a peace agreement.

“Now, they say they are thinking of how to deploy troops to Ukraine,” Putin said, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency. “This would mean a war with Russia.”

The warning followed discussions among Ukraine’s European allies over what security arrangements could be put in place if a ceasefire or peace agreement is ultimately reached.

French President Emmanuel Macron previously announced that 26 countries had committed themselves to providing postwar security guarantees for Ukraine. The countries were considering various forms of assistance, with some prepared to participate in a force operating on land, at sea or in the air, while others could contribute without stationing personnel inside Ukraine.

“The day the conflict stops, the security guarantees will be deployed,” Macron said.

Moscow has repeatedly rejected the prospect of Western forces being stationed inside Ukraine. Putin has previously warned that Western troops deployed there would be considered legitimate military targets by Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reinforced Putin’s latest warning on Saturday, saying Moscow had made its position unmistakably clear to European governments.

“It’s not a red line, but Russia’s position that has been conveyed to the whole world, primarily to Europeans, in an extremely specific and clear manner,” Peskov said.

The escalating rhetoric came as fighting continued at high intensity across Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched nearly 500 attack drones across the country on Saturday, part of a major wave of strikes that hit numerous regions.

Ukrainian officials reported that Russian attacks on Saturday killed 10 civilians and wounded dozens more, damaging residential areas and infrastructure. Among the locations hit were Odesa, Kramatorsk, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhzhia and the Zhytomyr region.

The attacks have increasingly extended toward Ukraine’s western frontier with NATO countries. On Sunday, Russia struck a truck near the Dorohusk-Yahodyn crossing on the Polish border, temporarily disrupting operations there. Moscow said the target was infrastructure used to support European military shipments to Ukraine.

Ukraine borders NATO members Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, as well as Moldova. The possibility that troops from European countries could eventually operate inside Ukraine has therefore become one of the most sensitive questions surrounding efforts to establish lasting security guarantees for Kyiv.

European governments supporting the proposal have described a potential international presence as a postwar deterrent rather than a force intended to enter the current fighting. Planning has focused on what would happen after hostilities cease and how Ukraine could be protected against another Russian attack.

Russia, however, has consistently opposed NATO or other Western military forces operating on Ukrainian territory and has portrayed the issue as a fundamental security concern.

Putin’s latest warning significantly raised the stakes surrounding those discussions, making explicit that Moscow would regard the arrival of European troops in Ukraine as a direct confrontation between Russia and the countries deploying them.

The warning came as diplomatic efforts to end the war continued alongside the fighting. During the BRICS gathering in New Delhi, India and other participating countries renewed calls for negotiations, while Moscow signaled that it remained open to further talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States.

For now, however, the gulf between Moscow and Kyiv’s European allies remains substantial. European leaders are attempting to devise guarantees strong enough to deter another Russian offensive after a settlement, while Putin is warning that one of the most significant options under discussion — putting European military personnel on Ukrainian soil — could itself produce a direct war between Russia and Europe.

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