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EPA<\/p>\nCraig Williams<\/p>\n
BBC Scotland News<\/p>\n
EPA<\/p>\n
President Trump spoke to reporters at his Turnberry resort on Monday<\/p>\n
Donald Trump’s four-day visit to Scotland will draw to a close later after a meeting with First Minister John Swinney.<\/p>\n
The two leaders are expected to discuss whisky tariffs and the middle east in a one-to-one, before the president opens a new course at his Aberdeenshire golf resort.<\/p>\n
In a visit dominated by trade discussions with the European Union<\/a>, Trump has already played golf at his Turnberry resort, where he welcomed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Monday.<\/p>\n The pair then flew to RAF Lossiemouth on Air Force One, before being joined by the first minister for dinner at the Trump resort at Balmedie, near Aberdeen.<\/p>\n Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer are welcomed by bagpipers in Aberdeenshire on Monday evening<\/p>\n The BBC has been told Swinney spent more than an hour in conversation with Trump on Monday night.<\/p>\n The pair were seated next to each other for the meal – which included a starter of langoustine and a main course of beef – and “discussed at length critical issues such as whisky,” according to a senior Scottish government source.<\/p>\n Swinney is seeking an exemption for Scotch from a 10 per cent tax, known as a tariff, imposed on UK exports to the US.<\/p>\n The spirit makes up a quarter of all UK food and drink exports according to the Scotch Whisky Association.<\/p>\n The trade body said around a fifth of all Scotch whisky is exported to the US – a market worth \u00a3971m in 2024 – and the tariffs are currently costing the industry \u00a34m a week.<\/p>\n The Scottish government source said there was a “window of opportunity” between now and Trump returning to the UK for a state visit in September to make progress on reducing the tariff.<\/p>\n Donald Trump will open a new golf course at his Aberdeenshire resort<\/p>\n Ahead of the trip, the White House said talks between the president and prime minister would deal with elements of the trade deal between the countries. <\/p>\n Despite the trade deal being agreed, a 10% tariff remains on Scotch whisky<\/a>, one of the country’s biggest exports.<\/p>\n Asked if that tariff could be dropped or eliminated as a result of the meeting with the prime minister, Trump said: “We’ll talk about that, I didn’t know whisky was a problem. I’m not a big whisky drinker, but maybe I should be.”<\/p>\n The first minister said he would raise the issue when he met the president.<\/p>\n On Monday, Swinney told the BBC: “Tariffs are very important for the Scottish economy and obviously Scotch whisky is a unique product.<\/p>\n “Obviously, the trade deal with the United States provides a degree of stability for economic connections with the United States but the application of tariffs is increasing the costs for the Scotch whisky industry.<\/p>\n “So one of my objectives will be to make the case to President Trump that Scotch whisky should be exempted from those tariffs,” he added.<\/p>\n John Swinney says whisky justifies an exemption from Trump’s 10% tariff<\/p>\n President Trump also used the media conference at Turnberry to hit out at wind turbines, which he branded “ugly monsters”.<\/p>\n He is a long-standing critic of turbines and previously lost a legal battle<\/a> to block a wind farm from being built opposite his golf club in Aberdeenshire. <\/p>\n Trump said: “Wind is the most expensive form of energy and it destroys the beauty of your fields, your plains and your waterways.<\/p>\n “Wind needs massive subsidy, and you are paying in Scotland and in the UK, and all over the place, massive subsidies to have these ugly monsters all over the place.”<\/p>\n Instead, the president urged the UK to exploit North Sea oil and gas.<\/p>\n “When we go to Aberdeen, you’ll see some of the ugliest windmills you’ve ever seen, the height of a 50-storey building,” Trump said.<\/p>\n “You can take 1,000 times more energy out of a hole in the ground this big,” he added, gesturing with his hands.<\/p>\n “It’s called oil and gas, and you have it there in the North Sea.”<\/p>\n Trump played golf on his Turnberry course on Saturday morning<\/p>\n The prime minister said the UK government believed in a mix of energy.<\/p>\n “Obviously, oil and gas is going to be with us for a very long time, and that’ll be part of the mix, but also wind, solar, increasingly nuclear, which is what we’ve been discussing,” he said.<\/p>\n The president’s visit was described as a “private” trip and – unusually for such events – combined politics with business and his love of golf. <\/p>\n It has involved a major police operation<\/a> in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire and enhanced policing for protest marches in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.<\/p>\n![\"Reuters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/8da5b5f0-6bdc-11f0-af20-030418be2ca5.jpg.webp.webp\")
Reuters<\/p>\n![\"Reuters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/61937630-6bfc-11f0-89ea-4d6f9851f623.jpg.webp.webp\")
Reuters<\/p>\n![\"PA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1374fcd0-6bfc-11f0-b603-0793ec6cd8e8.jpg.webp.webp\")
PA Media<\/p>\n![\"Reuters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/a3675600-6c4f-11f0-8dbd-f3d32ebd3327.jpg.webp.webp\")
Reuters<\/p>\n