Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increases in domestic excise duty on Scotch whisky on discussions to reduce tariffs and excise duty on that whisky in international markets.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government is supporting Scotch Whisky. We have provided a series of cuts and freezes to alcohol duties in the past decade. The most recent alcohol duty freeze from Autumn Budget 2021, including the extension to 1 August 2023, represented a total tax cut of £2.7 billion over the next four years.
The Government is seeking improvement in market access, through negotiating ambitious Free Trade Agreements, including our recent accession to the CPTPP, and with other trade partners. We are also seeking to reduce non-tariff barriers through conversations with various other partners globally.