A TRADE deal between the UK and US will not depend on an end to the Boeing/Airbus dispute which has resulted in crippling tariffs to malt whisky.

In a letter to trade union representatives on both sides of the Atlantic, minister of state for Trade Policy Greg Hands said the 25 per cent levy on whisky and other tariffs were an "unhelpful backdrop" to the negotiations.

He wrote in response to a letter by four unions - GMB Scotland, GMB Scotland, the United Food and Commercial Workers International, the International Brotherhood of Teamster sand the Liquor & Allied Workers Union, sent last month to the Department for International Trade (DfIT).

In their letter, the unions urged international trade secretary Liz Truss to do more to end the dispute and warned of the devastating effects on the whisky industry as well as bourbon makers in the US.

The tariffs have arisen as a result of a dispute between the US and EU over illegal subsidies paid to their aircraft manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, respectively.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) found that the EU and the US had both given the firms subsidies that it shouldn't have, and as a result, the US was allowed to impost tariffs on EU goods worth up to £7.5bn.

The WTO is still to decide the value of tariffs the EU would be allowed to impose on the US, which is affecting the UK's trade negotiations with America.

However the EU has also imposed tariffs on bourbon, and other classic American products including jeans and motorcycles, in retaliation for other tariffs the US imposed on steel.

In his letter, Mr Hands said he was "extremely disappointed that the US continues to apply these punitive tariffs and find it unacceptable that unrelated UK industries, such as Scotch whisky, who have nothing to do with the ongoing disputes, continue to be collateral damage."

He added: "We maintain that these tariffs are unnecessary, unhelpful and harm industry and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic."

Ms Truss has repeatedly said she will do everything in her power to end the retaliatory tariffs, with a department source telling The Herald the talks were moving forward in a positive direction.

Now Mr Hands has told the unions that while an end to the Airbus/Boeing dispute will not be a factor in a Free Trade Agreement, the department was clear there must be a "satisfactory outcome."

He said:" Although I welcome that the US did not impose further tariffs on products such as blended whiskies as part of their 12 August review, this does not resolve ongoing tariffs.

"Therefore, we are stepping up talks to remove them as soon as possible. Whilst a resolution to the Airbus and Boeing disputes will not form part of the Free Trade Agreement, we have been clear throughout that a satisfactory outcome to these needs to be part of an overall trade package with the US.

"You also mention the current EU tariffs on American whiskey in response to the US’s unlawful steel and aluminium tariffs. The UK remains disappointed that the US section 232 tariffs remain in place as we do not consider that UK exports pose a threat to US national security.

"As such we will continue to press the US for a resolution to these tariffs as part of our ongoing trade discussions. Our hope is that the US will remove its current tariffs on steel and aluminium products, in which case there will no longer be a need to apply rebalancing measures."

GMB Scotland representative Keir Greenaway said the tariff situation was "a humiliation on the international stage for the UK government" which had "disastrous consequences for jobs and communities dependent on Scotland’s whisky and spirits sector."

He said: "We’ve now passed the first anniversary of these tariffs and our trade ministers look utterly deluded and politically impotent. The Scotch Whisky Association estimates losses of an eye-watering £360 million over the last year and what happens next is blindingly obvious.

“The Prime Minister is blustering that Britain will “build back better” but the truth is we’ll be left trying to build a recovery on ruins unless his government urgently finds a backbone to defend our interests.”