Trump leaves Scotland after whisky tariffs and Gaza talks with Swinney

Donald Trump has left Scotland at the end of his four-day visit after discussing whisky tariffs and Gaza with First Minister John Swinney.

A Scottish government source said the two leaders had a “very good conversation” which lasted between 15 and 20 minutes on the US president’s Balmedie Estate.

Following the meeting, Swinney told BBC Scotland News that he believed the North Sea oil and gas industry was being “overtaxed”.

Trump opened a new course at his Aberdeenshire golf resort and called Swinney a “terrific guy” during the ceremony before he left Scotland in the early evening.

He told the opening ceremony crowd how his Lewis-born mother returned to her homeland “religiously” every year after she emigrated to New York aged 18.

Trump said: “We love Scotland.”

The president said he would play a round on his new golf course “very quickly” before returning to Washington DC to “put out fires all over the world”.

He added: “We’ve stopped about five wars. That’s much more important than playing golf.”

The president later left Menie on the presidential helicopter before departing for the USA from RAF Lossiemouth.

Trump raised the issue of oil and gas taxation during his meeting with Swinney.

Earlier on his Truth Social platform, Trump called North Sea oil a “treasure chest for the United Kingdom” and said taxes were too high on oil and gas production.

The Scottish government previously supported a windfall tax on the profits of various energy companies, but it has become increasingly critical of the impact the levies are having on oil and gas producers.

After his meeting with Trump, Swinney told BBC Scotland News the industry was “overtaxed”.

He would not be drawn on whether there should be a “presumption against” new oil and gas exploitation, arguing that the key point is that any new extraction must be compatible with climate change targets.

On whisky tariffs, Swinney said: “When the president came to Scotland at the end of last week, I think his view was that the trade deal with the UK was done and dusted.

“I was setting out to him a very unique circumstance around Scotch whisky which can only be produced in Scotland.

“It’s not something that can be relocated somewhere else.

“I was pointing out the significance of that point and appealing to his sentiment about being very positive about Scotland – which he is – to try to get to a better position.”

Swinney also said the president had recently signalled “growing awareness and unease” about the situation in Gaza.

The first minister said it was a source of “heartbreak” in Scotland and urged the president to use his influence on the Israeli government to secure a ceasefire and deliver humanitarian aid.

Eric Trump was present at the meeting while Donald Trump Jr attended at the start and end.

Ahead of the meeting, the first minister gifted the president two framed historical documents from the National Records of Scotland.

One included an excerpt from the 1921 Census for Stornoway, which featured his mother’s family, and an entry on Old Parish Registers marking the marriage of his great-grandparents.

The second featured a map of Lewis from 1654.

The president gave Swinney an American bald eagle figurine – the national emblem of the United States.

In a visit dominated by trade discussions with the European Union, Trump has already played golf at his Turnberry resort, where he welcomed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Monday.

The pair then flew to RAF Lossiemouth on Air Force One, before being joined by the first minister for dinner at the Trump resort at Balmedie, near Aberdeen.

The BBC has been told Swinney spent more than an hour in conversation with Trump on Monday night.

The pair were seated next to each other for the meal – which included a starter of langoustine and a main course of beef – and “discussed at length critical issues such as whisky,” according to a senior Scottish government source.

Swinney is seeking an exemption for Scotch from a 10% tax, known as a tariff, imposed on UK exports to the US.

The spirit makes up a quarter of all UK food and drink exports according to the Scotch Whisky Association.

The trade body said around a fifth of all Scotch whisky is exported to the US – a market worth £971m in 2024 – and the tariffs are currently costing the industry £4m a week.

The Scottish government source said there was a “window of opportunity” between now and Trump returning to the UK for a state visit in September to make progress on reducing the tariff.

Ahead of the trip, the White House said talks between the president and prime minister would deal with elements of the trade deal between the countries.

Despite the trade deal being agreed, a 10% tariff remains on Scotch whisky, one of the country’s biggest exports.

Asked if that tariff could be dropped or eliminated as a result of the meeting with the prime minister, Trump said: “We’ll talk about that, I didn’t know whisky was a problem. I’m not a big whisky drinker, but maybe I should be.”

President Trump also used the media conference at Turnberry to hit out at wind turbines, which he branded “ugly monsters”.

He is a long-standing critic of turbines and previously lost a legal battle to block a wind farm from being built opposite his golf club in Aberdeenshire.

Trump said: “Wind is the most expensive form of energy and it destroys the beauty of your fields, your plains and your waterways.

“Wind needs massive subsidy, and you are paying in Scotland and in the UK, and all over the place, massive subsidies to have these ugly monsters all over the place.”

Instead, the president urged the UK to exploit North Sea oil and gas.

“When we go to Aberdeen, you’ll see some of the ugliest windmills you’ve ever seen, the height of a 50-storey building,” Trump said.

“You can take 1,000 times more energy out of a hole in the ground this big,” he added, gesturing with his hands.

“It’s called oil and gas, and you have it there in the North Sea.”

The prime minister said the UK government believed in a mix of energy.

“Obviously, oil and gas is going to be with us for a very long time, and that’ll be part of the mix, but also wind, solar, increasingly nuclear, which is what we’ve been discussing,” he said.

The president’s visit was described as a “private” trip and – unusually for such events – combined politics with business and his love of golf.

It has involved a major police operation in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire and enhanced policing for protest marches in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

On Monday Police Scotland “engaged” with a boat off the coast of Aberdeenshire, near the Balmedie golf resort.

Footage showed the boat – which had a Palestinian flag – being followed in the water by police but officers said no action was necessary.

Trump has often credited his late mother with his decision to invest in his Scottish resorts.

He has been a regular visitor to his courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire over the past decade.

The president will return to the UK in September for a state visit, when he will stay with the King at Windsor Castle.