STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
President Trump departs Scotland later today.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
He's played some golf and also made some news. He announced a new framework for U.S. trade with the European Union and what could be a major recalibration of U.S. policy toward Gaza.
INSKEEP: NPR's Lauren Frayer has been covering the president's trip and joins us now from Aberdeen, Scotland. Hi there, Lauren.
LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.
INSKEEP: What have you been seeing through the day?
FRAYER: So Trump met this morning with Scotland's top official, First Minister John Swinney, for about 15 or 20 minutes. And then today is all about one of the president's favorite pastimes - golf. He's playing a first round on a new golf course he owns on the North Sea coast of Scotland - a course that's dedicated to his mother, Mary MacLeod, who happens to have been born and raised in Scotland. I got up to the golf course, visited some neighbors around there who say the course severs their access to a stretch of pristine beach, that it hasn't brought as many jobs as they hoped for their community.
And basically, this is kind of representative of the welcome, or lack thereof, Trump got here - mostly resistance from locals. And he's met with protesters or been met with protesters in pretty much every city he's visited. But he also has managed to get a lot of work done here.
INSKEEP: Let's talk about some of that work, then - a 15% tariff now on European goods sent to the United States, in a deal that we discussed yesterday, although many details are still unknown. What does it mean for Trump's overall tariff policy?
FRAYER: Well, the EU is the world's biggest single trading bloc, and it's now facing significant U.S. tariffs. And this is kind of a blueprint for what could be coming. Trump has been talking here in Scotland about blanket global tariffs for other countries with which he has yet to make trade deals, and he describes the rates he wants to charge.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I would say in the range of 15% to 20%.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: [inaudible]
TRUMP: Probably one of those two numbers.
FRAYER: Now, this is higher than a baseline 10% tariff Trump announced back in April. The president says he's going to impose this new baseline tariff of 15% to 20% on what he described as essentially the rest of the world because he said, quote, "you can't sit down and make 200" different deals. Now, this is for countries where Trump has not already specified higher tariffs. He's set this Friday, August 1, as a new tariff deadline for dozens of countries, including Canada and Mexico.
INSKEEP: I noticed that he also spoke about the Middle East yesterday when talking with reporters. What came out of that?
FRAYER: Yeah. He spoke about starvation in Gaza in a way that he really hasn't before. And he contradicted his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Netanyahu has said there is no starvation in Gaza, but here is what Trump told reporters.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: We can save a lot of people. I mean, some of those kids are - that's real starvation stuff. I see it. And you can't fake that.
FRAYER: And Trump kept repeating, we got to get those kids fed. And he said the U.S. would set up food centers in Gaza.
INSKEEP: The U.S. has already been involved in various efforts there. This sounds like a rebuke of Netanyahu.
FRAYER: Absolutely. I mean, Trump said this while sitting next to Prime Minister of the U.K. Keir Starmer, who's been weighing whether to follow France's lead and recognize a Palestinian state. Trump said he doesn't mind if Starmer does that. Now, that's something Netanyahu opposes, that Netanyahu has said rewards terror. Netanyahu has said that a Palestinian state would be used to annihilate Israel. And so Trump rebuked Netanyahu and also kind of gave a tacit nod to a boost for the Palestinians.
INSKEEP: NPR's Lauren Frayer in Aberdeen, Scotland. Thanks.
FRAYER: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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