John Swinney urges Trump to exempt scotch whisky from 10% tariffs | Trump tariffs

Scotland’s first minister has urged Donald Trump to exempt scotch whisky from 10% tariffs because the leaders met earlier than a lavish opening ceremony for a second golf course on the US president’s Aberdeenshire resort.John Swinney stated he believed there was “a window of alternative” to have a look at the precise tariff, which is believed to be costing the scotch whisky trade £4m every week.Regardless of backing Trump’s rival Kamala Harris in final yr’s US elections, Swinney loved vital entry to the president throughout his five-day go to to Scotland.The pair are understood to have sat collectively at a dinner hosted by the president on the Trump Worldwide Resort on the Menie Property on Monday night, the place they spoke collectively for about an hour.A extra formal assembly on Tuesday morning, additionally attended by Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr, was described as “very convivial”.And in a speech earlier than he minimize the pink ribbon to open the brand new 36-hole course, which he devoted to his late mom who grew up close to Stornoway on Lewis, Trump thanked Swinney “for every little thing”. He requested Swinney to face for applause in entrance of different company and described him as a “very particular man”.He additionally stated the UK prime minister, Kier Starmer, was “very gracious”.Chatting with reporters after the ceremony, Swinney stated: “I feel there’s a willingness for President Trump to have a look at the problems that I’ve got down to him. I don’t suppose that was the place just a few days in the past, as a result of I feel President Trump was of the view that the commerce deal was achieved and dusted and that was an finish of the matter.”The UK and US signed a commerce deal in June however it didn’t defend each sector from tariffs.The president had been requested about whisky tariffs by journalists at his Turnberry resort in Ayrshire on Monday, when he appeared to not realise there was a problem.“We’ll speak about that, I didn’t know whisky was an issue,” Trump stated. “I’m not an enormous whisky drinker however possibly I needs to be.”Swinney additionally used Tuesday’s formal assembly to debate the hunger disaster in Gaza. He stated later: “I implored President Trump to make use of his immense affect on the Israeli authorities to finish the insufferable, unjust, and inhumane scenario unfolding in Gaza, and to carry an finish to the humanitarian disaster we’re witnessing.”Trump performed a spherical on the brand new course earlier than returning to RAF Lossiemouth to fly again to Washington DC, the place he stated he was wanted to “put out fires everywhere in the world”.