Trump says he will meet Starmer in Scotland visit, expects trade talks

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he expects to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Aberdeen, Scotland, later this month to refine a U.S.-British trade deal.

A White House official said Trump plans to visit his golf properties in Scotland late this month, recreating a trip he made in 2016 during his first run for the presidency.

Trump plans to visit both his Turnberry and Aberdeen golf properties on a trip expected to last from July 25-29, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Asked by reporters about the trip, Trump said he is set to meet Starmer on the trip.

He and Starmer announced a deal on June 16 on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada that reaffirmed quotas and tariff rates on British automobiles and eliminated tariffs on the U.K. aerospace sector. But the issue of steel and aluminum remains unresolved.

"We are going to have a meeting with him, probably in Aberdeen. And we're going to do a lot of different things, also refine the trade deal that we've made," Trump said.

Trump visited both golf courses during his successful run for a first term in 2016, using the opportunity to praise Britain's "Brexit" vote to part ways with the European Union. As he toured the grounds at Turnberry then, he was accompanied by bagpipers in kilts.

The Turnberry course on the west coast of Scotland has been the site of the Open Championship four times, the last one being in 2009. Trump bought it in 2014.

The Republican president will make a state visit to Britain September 17-19 as the guest of King Charles at Windsor Castle.

The late Queen Elizabeth had welcomed Trump to Buckingham Palace for a three-day state visit in June 2019 during his first term in office, during which he had a private lunch with the sovereign and had tea with Charles, who was then heir.    

(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Leslie Adler)