By Chris McCall

Copyright dailyrecord

Securing a trade deal on Scotch whisky with Donald Trump is is “very high” on the UK Government’s agenda, the new Scottish Secretary has said. Douglas Alexander insisted officials were already “negotiating hard” with the US – but stressed “Donald Trump doesn’t give gifts, Donald Trump does deals”. His comments come after John Swinney’s visit to meet the US president in the White House earlier this week, where the First Minister spent 50 minutes in the Oval Office with the President. Scotch whisky exported to the US currently faces a 10 per cent levy as a result of the Trump Administration’s enthusiasm for tariffs. Alexander today called on Swinney to put aside “political point scoring” and work together to secure a whisky trade deal with the US. It comes as Trump is due to arrive in the UK for a state visit next week. Alexander said: “We are negotiating hard for the United Kingdom, and I can assure listeners to Good Morning Scotland that the Scotch whisky industry is very high up that list, if not at the very top of that list, in terms of what we are looking and seeking to negotiate, because we have already got some form on this. “We have just delivered a trade deal with India, which will see tariffs cut from about 150% first to 75% and then down to 40% which will be transformative to export opportunities for Scotch whisky. “So frankly, we are working hard between now and the state visit, and as necessary beyond the state visit to deliver for the whisky industry and all those who work in it here in Scotland.” Alexander added: “With President Trump’s state visit just days away, we all need to put Scotland’s economy first – not political point scoring.” Asked what he meant by suggesting Swinney was engaged in political point scoring, Alexander told the BBC: “When he said that he had put whisky on the agenda, with great respect, we’d already done a deal with India, where whisky was a central feature of that deal. “But also, John Swinney knows that we had Peter Kyle on the ground in Washington on Monday. “We’ve had negotiators on the ground in Washington every day this week, and because we’ve shared that information with him, he’s fully aware that long before John Swinney arrived in the Oval Office, we were talking with and engaging with the US administration on the issue of whisky. “So I welcome the fact that John was in Washington. Frankly, if we have divisions at home, we will be less influential abroad. “But the reality is, we shouldn’t be playing politics with people’s jobs and the prospects of the Scotch whisky industry.” The Scottish Government is being asked for comment. Speaking earlier in the week, Mr Swinney said the US president had “listened carefully” to his arguments in what he said was a “very serious and a very substantial conversation”. He added: “I want to be very clear, we did not conclude a deal – that work rests with the United Kingdom Government.” Mr Swinney said he had “worked hard to create a platform for the UK Government to negotiate and to deliver on Scotch whisky”. To sign up to the Daily R ecord Politics newsletter, click here