DONALD Trump has been urged to drop his threat to introduce tariffs on Scotch whisky as part of an ongoing trade war with the EU.

In terms of value, the US is the biggest export market for Scotch Whisky, worth £1.04 billion in 2018.

But the president has threatened tariffs on £3.2bn of goods from Europe as part of a feud at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

On Monday, the US trade representative’s office released a list of 89 additional products – including Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, olives, cherries, Gouda cheese, and coiled copper – that could be hit with the charges.

They will hold a hearing into the proposals on August 5.

It all stems from a 15-year dispute, when the EU authorities claimed Boeing had received $19bn, prompting the US to file a similar suit over Airbus. But while the spat has been going on since 2004, it has intensified under president Trump.

In April the Americans said they wanted to put $21bn worth of tariffs on a number of products from Europe, including lemons and motorbikes. The WTO is expected to rule on the US sanction request later in the year.

Last year president Trump slapped tariffs on EU steel and aluminum and threatened to impose import levies on European cars and car parts.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) urged the US and the EU to try to bring the trade war to an end.

“Exports of Scotch whisky to the US have been zero tariff for 20 years, so it is disappointing that Scotch whisky has been drawn into this dispute,” a spokesman said.

“The Scotch whisky industry has consistently opposed the imposition of tariffs, which harms economies on both sides of the Atlantic which depend on trade for their continued prosperity.

“There is a close relationship between the US whiskies and Scotch whisky, not least due to the use of bourbon casks for maturation which generates around £70 million for the US economy each year. We continue to urge the UK government, the EU and the US government to resolve this situation.”

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States also attacked the Trump administration’s latest tariff threats.

“US companies – from farmers to suppliers to retailers – are already being negatively impacted by the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by key trading partners on certain US distilled spirits ... and these additional tariffs will only inflict further harm,” a spokeswoman said.

The EU said they remained “open for discussions with the US, provided these are without preconditions and aim at a fair outcome”.

Scotch whisky makes up 12% of the total whiskey market in the United States, with US whiskey accounting for 48%.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are deeply concerned about Scotch whisky being implicated in a long-running trade dispute between the US and the EU.

“This approach, if enacted, will negatively impact on industries on both sides of the Atlantic, including Scotland.

“Scotch whisky exports to the US were worth £1.04bn last year, representing around 22% of global whisky exports. With US and EU spirits producers having enjoyed duty-free access to each other’s markets for two decades, this proposal will seriously damage trade and is of great concern to the Scottish Government.

“We are calling on the UK Government to make urgent representations to the EU to

ensure that Scotch whisky is not collateral damage to this long-term dispute between the EU and the US.”