Top Europe banks warn of euro strength, 'wait-and-see' market amid U.S. tariffs
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Washington Post
8 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump hosts Starmer in Scotland, promoting his own golf club
EDINBURGH, Scotland — President Donald Trump has transformed the private green at his Turnberry golf course into a venue for high-stakes diplomacy. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived Monday morning to meet with the president near the fairway to hash out a trade deal and discuss the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. On Sunday, European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the contours of a trade deal at the private club. The meetings provide the latest example of how Trump uses his presidential power not only to govern, but also to help his family businesses. The engagements provide publicity for the courses and funnel taxpayer funds to the Trump Organization, as the U.S. government pays to lodge staff and security details at the properties. Traditionally, American presidents are invited to other countries by their leaders and hosted at diplomatic residences. But Trump is playing host to Starmer in the prime minister's own country, continuing his long tradition of sidestepping presidential norms to mix his family business and his public office. 'It is an unusual dynamic, but that is more of an issue for the U.S.,' said David Henig, director of the U.K. Trade Policy Project for the European Centre for International Political Economy. 'U.K. prime ministers have always said, we will just deal with the U.S. presidents as we find them.' Asked about the potential conflicts of interest, White House officials noted that the golf courses are held in a trust managed by Trump's children. 'President Trump's working trip to Scotland has already been a huge success, securing a historic trade agreement with the EU. President Trump is always acting in the best interest of the American people delivering GOOD deals that put America First,' White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a written statement. 'Donald J. Trump has built the best and most beautiful world-class golf courses anywhere in the world, which is why they continue to be used for prestigious tournaments and by the most elite players in the sport.' Trump and Starmer told reporters Monday that they plan to discuss tariffs — including those levied on whisky — and aid to Gaza and Ukraine. In an exchange with reporters as Starmer arrived, Trump said he plans to shorten the 50-day deadline he gave Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine, reflecting his mounting frustration with the Kremlin. He also repeated his complaint that no one has said 'thank you' for aid the United States has sent to Gaza for food, where deaths from starvation and malnutrition are rising, and stressed his continued focus on rescuing Israeli hostages. Trump's visit, which includes the opening of a new golf course in Aberdeenshire, on Scotland's east coast, will cost American taxpayers millions of dollars for travel and security. While all other presidents in the era of jet travel have regularly used Air Force One for personal travel and are protected by the Secret Service as they do so, the government was not paying hotel fees to businesses they owned to house security details or White House staff. The U.S. government paid $68,800 to Trump's Turnberry resort in 2018 to cover the cost of Trump's visit to the course on Scotland's west coast during his first term, according to a report in the Scotsman newspaper. In between negotiating trade accords and batting back questions about the Jeffrey Epstein files, Trump used his time in Scotland over the weekend to promote the course. He posted videos of himself golfing on Truth Social, the social network he partially owns. He also cited praise from the retired professional golfer Gary Player. 'The Great Gary Player: 'Turnberry is, without a question, in the Top Five Greatest Golf Courses I've ever played in my 73 years as a Pro.' Thank you, Gary!'' he wrote. Trump Turnberry was one of Trump's most expensive properties and has struggled to turn a profit since his company purchased it in 2014. Trump spent $67 million to buy the property and an additional $144 million to renovate it. The course lost $1.7 million in the 2023 fiscal year, according to a filing from the company which operates the course. Trump has some supporters in the Turnberry area, where his club is a significant employer, but also many detractors. Scotts have hosted demonstrations across the country this week in protest of his stay. 'We're operating in nonstandard territory in terms of seeing him using Scotland as just a meeting room and use his properties as a venue for trade talks,' said Jack Nevin, who organized a protest Saturday in Edinburgh on behalf of Stop Trump Coalition. 'It's par for the course with his rank corruption and promoting his own businesses as president.' Amy B Wang contributed to this report.
The Hill
9 minutes ago
- The Hill
Former ambassador to EU: 15 percent tariff can be baked into profit margins
President Trump's first-term ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, brushed off concerns on Sunday about higher prices for Americans following news of the U.S.-EU trade deal, which set tariffs at 15 percent on European goods. In an interview with CNN's Jessica Dean, Sondland was asked to respond to folks who see the 15 percent tariff on imported goods and are worried that, for example, their perfume bottles from France will now be 15 percent more expensive. He said Americans might initially see higher prices, but they will soon adjust as competition returns to the market. 'At 15 percent, I think consumers will initially pay, but I also think that this will be baked into the profit margins — or a reduction of the profit margins — on a lot of these products, because the market will start to pull prices back down again as there's more competition,' he said. Sondland said a 15 percent rate will generate enough revenue to make a dent in the reduction of the annual deficit. 'I think at a 15 percent tariff, it's enough to generate. If everything that we imported bore a 15 percent tariff, that would generate about $450 billion for the United States Treasury, which would make an enormous dent in our annual deficit,' Sondland said. 'If the tariff were 30 or 40 or 50 percent, that would be an absolute shutdown, so that wouldn't work. But 10 to 15, I think we can swallow it, and I think it's going to generate a tremendous amount of money if Congress doesn't piss it away on other things,' he added. Trump and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced a trade deal on Sunday, setting tariffs at 15 percent for European goods, including automobiles. The European Union will purchase $750 billion worth of energy from the U.S. as part of the deal, Trump announced, and agreed to invest in the U.S. $600 billion more than the current investments for other goods. The agreement is lower than the 30 percent tariff Trump had threatened to impose on the EU, which would have begun on Friday, and avoids a trade war with the U.S.'s largest trading partner.
The Hill
9 minutes ago
- The Hill
US and China officials meet in Stockholm to discuss how to ease trade tensions
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Top trade officials from China and the United States arrived for a new round of talks in Stockholm on Monday in a bid to ease tensions over trade between the world's two biggest national economies. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng were meeting at the offices of Sweden's prime minister for talks that Bessent has said will likely to lead to an extension of current tariff levels. Analysts say the two envoys could set the stage for a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year to cement a recent thaw in trade tensions. The talks are the third this year between He and Bessent — nearly four months after Trump upended global trade with his sweeping tariff proposals, including an import tax that shot up to 145% on Chinese goods. China quickly retaliated, sending global financial markets into a temporary tailspin. The Stockholm meeting — following similar talks in Geneva and London in recent months — is set to extend a 90-day pause on those tariffs. During the pause, U.S. tariffs were lowered to 30% on Chinese goods, and China set a 10% tariff on U.S. products. The Trump administration, fresh off a deal on tariffs with the European Union, wants to reduce a trade deficit that came in at $904 billion overall last year — including a nearly $300 billion trade deficit with China alone. China's Commerce Ministry, for its part, said last week that Beijing wants 'more consensus and cooperation and less misperception' from the Stockholm talks.
