Swinney admits arranging no talks about Trump tariffs on US visit

Telegraph

03-04-2025

John Swinney has denied behaving like a 'tourist' on a high-profile visit to the US starting on Friday after it emerged he had sought no meetings with the Trump administration to discuss tariffs on Scottish produce.
The First Minister is to visit New York for three days for Tartan Week, during which he will help lead a parade through Manhattan and hold meetings with business leaders.
He told MSPs that he would leave 'no stone unturned' trying to protect major industries such as whisky and salmon, which are expected to be damaged by the tariffs.
But the Scottish Government then admitted that Mr Swinney had not sought any meetings with US officials to discuss the charges during his US trip.
Mr Swinney is expected to remain in New York rather than take a 90-minute to Washington DC to speak to figures in the Trump administration or Congress.
This is despite him admitting at First Minister's Questions at Holyrood that the 10 per cent tariff Mr Trump had imposed on British imports 'will be damaging for economic activity'.
In contrast, it is understood that Ian Murray, the Scottish Secretary in the UK Government, has used his US visit for Tartan Week to meet Mark Burnett, Mr Trump's special envoy to the UK.
Mr Murray is also meeting State Department officials and Congressman Steve Cohen, a senior figure in the Scottish American congressional caucus.
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, was also in Washington on Thursday and planned to attend a reception at the British embassy hosted by Lord Mandelson, the UK ambassador to the US.
Mr Sarwar was hosting a separate Scottish Labour reception in the US capital that was expected to be attended by congressmen and senators from both the Democrats and Republicans. Sources described Mr Swinney as an 'absent First Minister'.
Mr Swinney was forced to defend his lack of direct engagement with the Trump government during his US trip the day after the president unveiled the 10 per cent tariff on UK exports.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), which represents the industry, said it was 'disappointed' by the move and welcomed 'intensive efforts by the UK Government to reach a deal with the US administration.'
Mr Trump hit Scotch whisky with a 25 per cent tariff in 2019, during his first term, a move the SWA estimates cost the industry £600 million. The charges were repealed 18 months later.
About £225 million of Scottish salmon is sold in the US annually, making it the industry's second largest export market after France.
Mr Swinney is expected to arrive in New York at lunchtime on Friday and depart on Monday. He will help lead the annual Tartan Day Parade through central Manhattan on Saturday.
After facing criticism for ducking meetings with the Trump government, Mr Swinney said later: 'The responsibility for negotiating trade deals between the UK and the US rests with the UK Government and I'm not going to get in the road of those negotiations.
'It's their responsibility. They've got to fix it. What I can do is I can use my time to attract investment directly into Scotland and that's what I'm going to do.'
The First Minister's official spokesman told journalists at Holyrood that no attempts had been made to meet anyone in the Trump administration.
'I don't believe any meeting was sought, no,' he said.
'The focus of his visit to the US in the coming days is around Tartan Week, so he's going to be in New York promoting Scotland as a place to do business, promoting Scottish culture.'
Pressed repeatedly why the First Minister had not sought a meeting, the spokesman said Mr Swinney was visiting New York for Tartan Week rather than Washington.
Asked if the Foreign Office or Lord Mandelson had warned Mr Swinney off directly engaging with the Trump administration, the spokesman said this had not been the case.
Mr Swinney was challenged if his failure to meet anyone from the US government could lead to the perception that he was a 'tourist rather than a leader.'
'I'm going to be undertaking a whole range of different business visits, on financial services, on food and drink, on tourism activities, which are all integral to the Scottish economy,' the First Minister said.
'So I'll be working hard to make sure Scotland is promoted and to ensure that the interests of Scotland are asserted to the United States market.'
He also said he was 'not confident' that the UK Government would agree a trade deal with the US so the tariffs could be repealed.
But Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said: 'In the middle of a trade crisis, taxpayer funded flights and overseas government missions should be being used to deliver for those Scottish businesses under threat for tariffs. Instead it seems like John is on a jolly.'
Russell Findlay, the Scottish Tory leader, argued that Mr Swinney should bring down tax bills for workers and businesses to compensate for the impact of the tariffs on the Scottish economy.