International-News

Trump meets von der Leyen in Scotland: trade agreement expected

Face-to-face meeting at 4.30 p.m. local time at Turnberry Golf Club. Washington considers 15% tariffs on European imports, Brussels ready to take countermeasures

The meeting between US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will take place this afternoon at 4.30 p.m. local time (5.30 p.m. in Italy). The announcement came yesterday from the White House, which updated the agenda of the White House chief, who arrived in Scotland on Friday. The meeting will take place at the Turnberry Golf Club, owned by the American president himself.

Von der Leyen had anticipated the summit by talking about a “fruitful phone call” with Trump, at the end of which a face-to-face meeting would be arranged “to discuss transatlantic trade relations and how to keep them strong”. On the table is the agreement negotiated by the respective representatives, Maros Sefcovic for the EU and Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer for the US. The text provides for the imposition of 15% tariffs by the United States on certain European imports, with targeted exemptions.

The American president described the possibility of an agreement with the EU as ‘50%’, but then corrected himself: ‘Maybe even less,’ he told reporters before leaving for Scotland. ‘But Japan was worse off before opening up to the American economy,’ he added.

The EU, for its part, considers the agreement ‘within reach’, but has already approved a package of countermeasures that will take effect on 7 August in the absence of an agreement. The measures include tariffs of up to 30% on American goods worth €93 billion. Only Hungary voted against it at EU level.

Trump’s visit to Scotland will last four days and will include trips to the resorts of Turnberry and Aberdeen. A meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also planned, while on the business front, the inauguration of a new golf course dedicated to the president’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, is scheduled. During his stay, Trump will also meet with Scottish First Minister John Swinney.

Security checks have been tightened at Aberdeen and Prestwick airports. Demonstrations by the “Stop Trump” collective are planned in Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

The visit comes just days after the entry into force of new US tariffs of up to 50% on several countries, including Canada, Mexico and the EU. The UK remains one of the few partners to have signed a bilateral agreement with Washington.

LE ULTIME NOTIZIE