EDINBURGH, Scotland — President Donald Trump headed into high-stakes talks Sunday with a top European official demanding fairer trade with the 27-member European Union and threatening steep tariffs to achieve that, while insisting the United States will not go below 15% import taxes.
Make-or-break talks could head off punishing U.S. tariffs — and promised retaliation from Europe — that could send shock waves through economies around the globe.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, was seated next to Trump at his golf resort on the Scottish coast and called for a rebalancing of bilateral trade worth billions of dollars between the vital partners. Speaking to reporters before their private meeting began, she and Trump both put the chances of reaching an agreement at 50-50.
That is important because the White House says higher tariffs will kick in on Friday if both sides cannot find consensus.
“This is bigger than any other deal,” Trump said, suggesting they could hammer out an agreement in just a short time. The president also pledged to change what he characterized as “a very one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States.”
“I think both sides want to see fairness,” Trump said.
Von der Leyen said the U.S. and EU combined have the world’s largest trade volume, encompassing hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars. Trump said the stakes involved meant of making a deal, “We should give it a shot.”
Von der Leyen said Trump was “known as a tough negotiator and dealmaker” which caused the president to interject with ”but fair.” She said that, if they are successful, “I think it would be the biggest deal each of us has ever struck.”
Trump called meeting with von der Leyen at his Turnberry golf course — where he played in the morning, an honor.
“I think the main sticking point is fairness,” he said while also noting, “We’ve had a hard time with trade with Europe, a very hard time.”
For months, Trump has threatened most of the world with large tariffs in hopes of shrinking major U.S. trade deficits with many key trading partners. More recently, he’s hinted that any deal with the EU would have to “buy down” the currently scheduled tariff rate of 30%.
During remarks before the media Sunday, the president pointed to a recent U.S. agreement with Japan that set tariff rates for many goods at 15% and suggested the EU could agree to something similar.
Asked if he would be willing to accept tariff rates lower than that, Trump said “no.”
“I’d like to see it resolved,” Trump said of a deal with Europe. “But if it isn’t, we’ll have tariffs.” Of retaliation from Europe he said, “They’ll do what they have to do.”
Their meeting came after Trump golfed for the second straight day at his Turnberry course, this time with a group that included sons Eric and Donald Jr. The president’s five-day visit to Scotland is built around golf and promoting properties bearing his name.
A small group of demonstrators at the course waved American flags and raised a sign criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who plans his own Turnberry meeting with Trump on Monday. Other voices could be heard cheering and chanting “Trump! Trump!” as he played nearby.
On Tuesday, Trump will be in Aberdeen, in northeastern Scotland, where his family has another golf course and is opening a third next month. The president and his sons plan to help cut the ribbon on the new course.
Joining von der Leyen were Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s chief trade negotiator; Björn Seibert, the head of von der Leyen’s Cabinet; Sabine Weyand, the commission’s directorate-general for trade, and Tomas Baert, head of the trade and agriculture at the EU’s delegation to the U.S.
The U.S. and EU seemed close to a deal earlier this month, but Trump instead threatened the 30% tariff rate. The deadline for the Trump administration to begin imposing tariffs has shifted in recent weeks but is now firm, the administration insists.
“No extensions, no more grace periods. Aug. 1, the tariffs are set, they’ll go into place, Customs will start collecting the money and off we go,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told “Fox News Sunday.” He added, however, that even after that “people can still talk to President Trump. I mean, he’s always willing to listen.”
Lutnick said the EU “needs to make a deal and wants to make a deal and they are flying to Scotland to make a deal with President Trump. The question is do they offer President Trump a good enough deal that is worth it for him to step off of the 30% tariffs that he set.”
Without an agreement, the EU says it is prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.
If Trump eventually makes good on his threat of tariffs against Europe, it could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the United States.
The U.S. and Britain, meanwhile, announced a trade framework in May and a larger agreement last month during the Group of Seven meeting in Canada. Trump says that deal is concluded and that he and Starmer will discuss other matters — though the White House has suggested it still needs some polishing.
