Starmer to raise Gaza ceasefire and UK steel tariffs in Trump meeting
The Prime Minister will travel to Ayrshire, where the US president is staying at his Turnberry golf resort, for wide-ranging discussions on trade and the Middle East as international alarm grows over starvation in Gaza.
The two leaders have built a rapport on the world stage despite their differing political backgrounds, with Mr Trump praising Sir Keir for doing a 'very good job' in office ahead of their talks on Monday.
But humanitarian conditions in Gaza and uncertainty over US import taxes on key British goods in America threaten to complicate their bilateral meeting.
Peace talks in the Middle East came to a standstill last week after Washington and Israel recalled negotiating teams from Qatar, with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff blaming Hamas for a 'lack of desire' to reach an agreement.
Since then, Israel has promised military pauses in three populated areas of Gaza to allow designated UN convoys of aid to reach desperate Palestinians.
But the UK, which is joining efforts to airdrop aid into the enclave and evacuate children in need of medical assistance, has said that access to supplies must be 'urgently' widened.
In his talks with Mr Trump, Sir Keir will 'welcome the President's administration working with partners in Qatar and Egypt to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza', Number 10 said.
'He will discuss further with him what more can be done to secure the ceasefire urgently, bring an end to the unspeakable suffering and starvation in Gaza and free the hostages who have been held so cruelly for so long.'
Scotland's First Minister John Swinney, who will also meet the president during his five day visit to the country, said he would urge Mr Trump to apply pressure on Israel to agree to a lasting ceasefire and allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
'I think what's important is that we focus on the solutions that are required now, and the absolutely immediate situation is a necessity for a ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to need to flow into Gaza so that the people of Gaza can be saved from the starvation that they face,' Mr Swinney told BBC Breakfast.
'And that is the blunt human reality of the situation that we face, and there must be an intensification of pressure on Israel.
'And I think President Trump is ideally positioned. In fact, he's perhaps uniquely positioned to apply that pressure to Israel to ensure that there is safe passage for humanitarian aid to support the people of Gaza, who face an absolutely unbearable set of circumstances as a consequence of the conflict.
'And a key part of that must be the application of a durable ceasefire, the flow of humanitarian aid and the progress towards a two state solution in the Middle East.'
The Prime Minister and US president will also talk 'one-on-one about advancing implementation of the landmark Economic Prosperity Deal so that Britons and Americans can benefit from boosted trade links between their two countries', it said.
The agreement signed at the G7 summit last month slashed trade barriers on goods from both countries.
But tariffs for the steel industry, which is of key economic importance to the UK, were left to stand at 25% rather than falling to zero as originally agreed.
Concerns had previously been raised that the sector could face a levy of up to 50% – the US's global rate – unless a further agreement was made by July 9, when Mr Trump said he would start implementing import taxes on America's trading partners.
But that deadline has been and gone without any concrete update on the status of UK steel.
Downing Street said that both sides are working 'at pace' to 'go further to deliver benefits to working people on both sides of the Atlantic' and to give UK industry 'the security it needs'.
Mr Swinney said he would use his meeting with President Trump to press him to exempt Scotch whisky from US trade tariffs.
The First Minister said the 'uniqueness' of whisky made in Scotland justified the exemption from the 10% tariff applied on UK exports into the US.
Sir Keir and Mr Trump are also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine, which Number 10 said would include 'applying pressure' on Vladimir Putin to end the invasion, before travelling on together for a private engagement in Aberdeen.
It comes after Mr Trump announced he had agreed 'the biggest deal ever made' between the US and the European Union after meeting Ursula von der Leyen for high-stakes talks at Turnberry on Sunday.
After a day playing golf, the US leader met the President of the EU Commission to hammer out the broad terms of an agreement that will subject the bloc to 15% tariffs on most of its goods entering America.
This is lower than a 30% levy previously threatened by the US president.
The agreement will include 'zero for zero' tariffs on a number of products including aircraft, some agricultural goods and certain chemicals, as well as EU purchases of US energy worth 750 billion dollars (£558 billion) over three years.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday about his meeting with Sir Keir, Mr Trump said: 'We're meeting about a lot of things. We have our trade deal and it's been a great deal.
'It's good for us. It's good for them and good for us. I think the UK is very happy, they've been trying for 12 years to get it and they got it, and it's a great trade deal for both, works out very well.
'We'll be discussing that. I think we're going to be discussing a lot about Israel.
'They're very much involved in terms of wanting something to happen.
'He's doing a very good job, by the way.'
Mr Trump's private trip to the UK comes ahead of a planned state visit in September.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
Euro set for first monthly decline this year, focus switches to Fed
SINGAPORE, July 30 (Reuters) - The euro steadied near its lowest in a month on Wednesday, nursing steep losses this week as investors counted the cost of the U.S.-EU trade pact, while the dollar wobbled ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting. The Japanese yen firmed against the dollar after a powerful earthquake struck off Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula and generated a tsunami, prompting evacuation warnings in the area and across most of Japan's east coast. Currency markets were mostly steady as investors were hesitant to place bets before crucial economic reports and central bank meetings in Canada, Japan and the United States. U.S. and Chinese officials agreed to seek an extension of their 90-day tariff truce, following two days of what both sides described as constructive talks in Stockholm. No major breakthroughs were announced and U.S. officials said it was up to President Donald Trump to decide whether to extend a truce that expires on August 12. The Sino-U.S. talks come after a framework deal between the U.S. and EU was announced on Sunday. The accord has evoked a mix of relief and concern from Europe, as the agreement was lopsided and skewed towards the United States. Investors have been keeping an eye on the trade pacts as countries scramble to get deals over the line before the August 1 deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump. "Markets seem to be increasingly interpreting trade agreements as symbolic and tactical rather than structural resolution," said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo in Singapore. "With terms often vague and enforcement mechanisms weak, investors are assigning lower market beta to these negotiations unless backed by concrete detail." The euro was 0.19% higher at $1.1566 after dropping for the first two days of the week and hitting a one-month low of $1.15185 on Tuesday. The euro is up 11.7% since the start of the year but on course for its first monthly drop this year. The single currency has benefited this year from the dollar losing its lustre due to Trump's erratic trade policies, prompting investors to look for alternatives. Sterling was at $1.3358 and the Australian dollar last bought $0.6517. The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.178 per U.S. dollar. That left the dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six others, at 98.815, hovering near a one-month high. The index is set to record its first month of gains this year. Investor focus will now switch to central bank meetings, with the Fed widely expected to stand pat on rates later on Wednesday, making comments from Chair Jerome Powell crucial to gauge the policy path. The meeting comes in the wake of Trump's constant demands for rate cuts, which have coincided with an unrelenting campaign of attacks on Powell by the president and administration officials. There is speculation that Governor Christopher Waller and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman could issue dissents if the Fed on Wednesday holds the policy rate steady for the fifth time since December. Both were appointed by Trump as was Powell. "While dissenting isn't uncommon, the dissents at this week's meeting may get more focus because Trump has made it crystal clear that he thinks the FOMC should be lowering interest rates," said Kristina Clifton, a senior economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "Dissents at this meeting may be judged as political and put a dent in perceptions of the FOMC's independence." The BOJ is also expected to stand pat and the spotlight will be on comments from Governor Kazuo Ueda as investors hope the recent trade deal between Japan and the U.S. paves the way for the central bank to raise interest rates again this year. The yen firmed 0.3% to 147.94 per dollar and was last at 148.06 after news broke about the Pacific earthquake and tsunami, with investors on alert for any damage to key infrastructure in Japan. Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC, said the yen strength was in reaction to earthquake-related headlines and likely exacerbated by thin market liquidity. "The Nightmare of 2011 Tohoku earthquake lingers," he said, referring to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan in March 2011. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was 0.4% higher at $117,944.64, while ether rose 1% to $3,807.34.
Sky News
44 minutes ago
- Sky News
How is Starmer's government doing? Here's what 'end-of-term' report from voters says
One year on, how's Keir Starmer's government going? We've put together an end-of-term report with the help of pollster YouGov. First, here are the government's approval ratings - drifting downwards. It didn't start particularly high. There has never been a honeymoon. But here is the big change. Last year's Labour voters now disapprove of their own government. That wasn't true at the start - but is now. And remember, it's easier to keep your existing voter coalition together than to get new ones from elsewhere. So we have looked at where voters who backed Labour last year have gone now. YouGov's last mega poll shows half of Labour voters last year - 51% - say they would vote for them again if an election was held tomorrow. Around one in five (19%) say they don't know who they'd vote for - or wouldn't vote. But Labour are also leaking votes to the Lib Dems, Greens and Reform. These are the main reasons why. A sense that Labour haven't delivered on their promises is top - just above the cost of living. Some 22% say they've been too right-wing, with a similar number saying Labour have "made no difference". Immigration and public services are also up there. Now, YouGov asked people whether they think the cabinet is doing a good or a bad job, and combined the two figures together to get a net score. John Healey and Bridget Phillipson are on top, but the big beats of Angela Rayner, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves bottom. But it's not over for Labour. Here's one scenario - 2024 Labour voters say they would much prefer a Labour-led government over a Conservative one. But what about a Reform UK-led government? Well, Labour polls even better against them - just 11% of people who voted Labour in 2024 want to see them enter Number 10. Signs of hope for Keir Starmer. But as Labour MPs head off for their summer holidays, few of their voters would give this government an A*.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Gold inches higher on lower Treasury yields; Fed policy decision awaited
July 30 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up on Wednesday, supported by lower Treasury yields and a slight pullback in the dollar, while investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy statement later in the day for guidance on future monetary policy path. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $3,329.27 per ounce as of 0236 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $3,326.90. "There could be a chance that the Fed may start to tilt towards the dovish side of the pendulum, and that is being portrayed on the Treasury yields," OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said, adding that the dollar strength was also tempered at this juncture. The U.S. dollar index (.DXY), opens new tab retreated from a more than one-month high, while benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hovered near a one-month low on Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to keep rates steady, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's constant call to lower them. Markets continue to price in a potential rate cut in September. Gold tends to do well in a low-interest-rate environment. If gold prices reach above $3,350 by the end of this week, given the upcoming release of U.S. inflation data and employment report, it could potentially swing momentum back towards a boost in prices, at least for the short term, Wong said. On Tuesday, U.S. and Chinese officials agreed to seek an extension of their 90-day tariff truce that expires on August 12, following two days of talks in Stockholm, with U.S. officials saying that it was up to Trump to decide. The International Monetary Fund slightly raised its global growth forecasts for 2025 and 2026 on Tuesday, citing stronger-than-expected buys ahead of a jump in U.S. tariffs on August 1 and a drop in the effective U.S. tariff rate to 17.3% from 24.4%. Spot silver fell 0.1% to $38.14 per ounce, platinum lost 0.6% at $1,386.31 and palladium rose 0.4% to $1,262.99.
