EU's new oil price cap to hit Russia, but analyst says U.S. could be the real 'game-changer'
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CNBC
5 minutes ago
- CNBC
Trump arrives in Scotland for golf and bilateral talks as EU trade deal nears
U.S. President Donald Trump, dogged by questions about his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, arrived in Scotland on Friday for some golf and bilateral talks that could yield a trade deal with the European Union. Trump told reporters upon his arrival that he will visit his two golf properties in Scotland and meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whom he called a "highly respected woman." As hundreds of onlookers cheered his arrival, Trump reiterated his earlier comment about a 50-50 chance of securing a deal with the EU, adding that it would be his administration's largest trade agreement thus far, if it came together. However, he said there were still "sticking points" with Brussels on "maybe 20 different things." Trump said his meeting with Starmer would be more of a celebration of the trade deal already reached than continued work on it, adding, "It's a great deal for both." Before he left Washington, Trump stated that his administration was working diligently on a potential trade deal with the EU, and Brussels was eager to finalize a deal. Von der Leyen said later she would meet Trump in Scotland on Sunday. EU diplomats say a deal could result in a 15% tariff on EU goods, mirroring a framework accord with Japan reached this week and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by Aug. 1. Trump has sought to reorder the global economy after imposing a 10% tariff on nearly all trading partners in April and threatening sharply higher rates for many countries to kick in a week from now. Trump says the moves will reduce the U.S. trade deficit and generate additional revenue, but economists warn that the new trade policies could drive up inflation. Trump, facing the biggest domestic political crisis of his second term, expressed frustration about ongoing questions about his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and his 2019 death in prison. "You make it a very big thing over something that's not a big thing," Trump told reporters in Scotland, urging them to focus on other prominent Americans with ties to Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton. "Talk about Clinton. Talk about the former president of Harvard. Talk about all of his friends. Talk about the hedge fund guys that were with him all the time. Don't talk about Trump," he said. "What you should be talking about is the fact that we have the greatest six months in the history of a presidency." The Epstein issue has caused a rare breach with some of Trump's most loyal Make America Great Again supporters, and majorities of Americans and Trump's Republicans say they believe the government is hiding details on the case, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. White House officials are hoping the controversy dies down while Trump is abroad, two people familiar with the matter said. Trump will stay at his Turnberry property on Scotland's west coast this weekend, before traveling on Monday to a golf property in Aberdeen, where he will open a second 18-hole course named in honor of his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod. MacLeod was born and raised on a Scottish island before emigrating to the U.S. As he left the White House, Trump said he looked forward to meeting both Starmer and Scottish leader John Swinney, who had publicly backed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The trip provides Trump and Starmer with an opportunity to strengthen their already warm ties, with key issues on the agenda, including ending Russia's war in Ukraine, according to British and U.S. sources. The deteriorating situation in Gaza is also likely to come up. Starmer on Thursday said he would hold an emergency call with France and Germany over what he called the "unspeakable and indefensible" suffering and starvation being reported there, and called on Israel to allow aid to enter the Palestinian enclave. Gaza health authorities say more than 100 people have died from starvation, most in recent weeks. Human rights groups have said mass starvation is spreading even as tons of food and other supplies sit untouched just outside the territory. Since being elected last year, Starmer has prioritized good relations with Trump, stressing the importance of Britain's defense and security alliance with the U.S., while working to clinch the first tariff-reduction deal with the U.S. in May. The framework agreement reaffirmed quotas and tariff rates on British automobiles and eliminated tariffs on the UK's aerospace sector, but left steel tariffs in place. Starmer is expected to press for lower steel tariffs, but sources close to the matter said it was unclear if any breakthrough was possible during Trump's visit. Trump has described Scotland as a "very special place" and made a similar trip there in 2016 during his earlier presidential run, but he will not necessarily receive a warm welcome. About 70% of Scots hold an unfavorable opinion of Trump, while 18% have a favorable opinion, according to an Ipsos poll conducted in March. Scottish police are gearing up for protests on Saturday in both Aberdeen and Edinburgh, the country's capital. Trump will return to Britain from Sept. 17-19 for a state visit hosted by King Charles. It will make Trump the first world leader in modern times to undertake two state visits to the United Kingdom. The late Queen Elizabeth hosted him at Buckingham Palace for a three-day state visit in June 2019.
Los Angeles Times
34 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump's trip to Scotland as his new golf course opens blurs politics and the family's business
EDINBURGH, Scotland — Lashed by cold winds and overlooking choppy, steel-gray North Sea waters, the breathtaking sand dunes of Scotland's northeastern coast rank among President Trump's favorite spots on Earth. 'At some point, maybe in my very old age, I'll go there and do the most beautiful thing you've ever seen,' Trump said in 2023, during his New York civil fraud trial, talking about his plans for future developments on his property in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire. At 79 and back in the White House, Trump is making at least part of that pledge a reality, landing in Scotland on Friday as his family's business prepares for the Aug. 13 opening of a golf course bearing his name. Trump will be in Scotland until Tuesday, and he plans to talk trade with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The Aberdeen area is already home to another of his courses, Trump International Scotland, and the Republican president is also visiting a Trump course near Turnberry, about 200 miles away on Scotland's southwest coast. Trump said upon arrival Friday evening that his son is 'gonna cut a ribbon' for the new course during his trip. Eric Trump also went with his father to break ground on the project back in 2023. Using a presidential overseas trip — with its sprawling entourage of advisors, White House and support staffers, Secret Service agents and reporters — to help show off Trump-brand golf destinations demonstrates how the president has become increasingly comfortable intermingling his governing pursuits with promoting his family's business interests. The White House has brushed off questions about potential conflicts of interest, arguing that Trump's business success before he entered politics was a key to his appeal to voters. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers called the Scotland swing a 'working trip.' She added that 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 went to Scotland to play his Turnberry course during his first term in 2018 while en route to a meeting in Finland with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But this trip comes as the new golf course is already actively selling tee times. 'We're at a point where the Trump administration is so intertwined with the Trump business that he doesn't seem to see much of a difference,' said Jordan Libowitz, vice president for the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, known as CREW. 'It's as if the White House were almost an arm of the Trump Organization.' During his first term, the Trump Organization signed an ethics pact barring deals with foreign companies. An ethics framework for Trump's second term allows them. Trump's assets are in a trust run by his children, who are handling day-to-day operations of the Trump Organization while he's in the White House. The company has inked many recent lucrative foreign agreements involving golf courses, including plans to build luxury developments in Qatar and Vietnam, even as the Trump administration negotiates tariff rates for those countries and others. Trump's existing Aberdeenshire course has a history nearly as rocky as the area's cliffs. It has struggled to turn a profit and was found by Scottish conservation authorities to have partially destroyed nearby sand dunes. Trump's company also was ordered to cover the Scottish government's legal costs after the course unsuccessfully sued over the construction of a nearby wind farm, arguing in part that it hurt golfers' views. The development was part of the massive civil case, which accused Trump of inflating his wealth to secure loans and make business deals. Trump's company's initial plans for his first Aberdeen-area course called for a luxury hotel and nearby housing. His company received permission to build 500 houses, but Trump suggested he'd be allowed to build five times as many and borrowed against their values without actually building any homes, the lawsuit alleged. Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump liable last year and ordered his company to pay $355 million in fines — a judgment that has grown with interest to more than $510 million as Trump appeals. Weissert writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.
an hour ago
At least 4 killed in Russia and Ukraine as countries trade aerial attacks
Russia and Ukraine traded aerial attacks overnight, resulting in two deaths in each country, according to officials. Ukraine's southern Dnipro and northeastern Sumy regions came under combined rocket and drone attack, local officials reported. Head of the Dnipro regional administration Serhii Lysak said at least two people had died and five were wounded in the barrage. In the city of Dnipro, a multi-story building and business were damaged during the strike and in the region a fire engulfed a shopping center. In Sumy, the military administration said three people were injured. Kharkiv sustained an intense aerial bombardment overnight with local authorities reporting Ukraine's second-largest city was hit by four guided aerial bombs, two ballistic missiles and 15 drones over a three-hour period. In a post on Telegram, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said high-rise residential buildings, local businesses, roads and the communication network were damaged in the attack. He said at least five people were injured, including three rescue workers who were wounded in a double tap strike — where a second attack targets emergency workers trying to help people wounded in the initial attack. According to the daily air force report, in total Russia targeted Ukraine with 208 drones and 27 missiles overnight. It said according to preliminary data, air defense and electronic warfare took down or intercepted 183 drones and 17 missiles but hits from 10 missiles and 25 drones had been recorded in nine locations. In Russia, officials said that Ukrainian drones targeted multiple regions overnight. A drone attack on the Rostov region, on the border with Ukraine, killed two people, acting governor Yuri Slyusar reported. In the neighboring Stavropol region, drones hit an unspecified industrial facility, governor Vladimir Vladimirov said on Telegram. He added that the attack sparked a brief fire, but didn't specify where exactly. Vladimirov said cellphone internet in the region was restricted because of the attack — a measure authorities regularly take across the vast country that critics say helps widespread online censorship. An unconfirmed media report said videos posted online by local residents showed that the drones hit the Signal radio plant that makes jamming equipment. The Associated Press was unable to verify the claim. Drones also targeted Moscow, but were shot down, according to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, and an unspecified industrial facility in the Penza region southeast of the capital, Gov. Oleg Melnichenko said. Russia's Defense Ministry said that its air defenses shot down or intercepted a total of 54 Ukrainian drones, including 24 over the Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine, 12 over the Rostov region, six over the annexed Crimean Peninsula, four over the Azov sea, three over the Black Sea and a few others over the Orlov, Tula and Belgorod regions. Russian civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia overnight briefly halted flights in and out of airports serving the city of Kaluga, southwest of Moscow, as well as Vladikavkaz and Grozny in the North Caucasus. ___
