John Swinney warns Donald Trump of tariffs 'economic damage' to Scotland and United States
The First Minister has appealed to Donald Trump not to follow through on a tariffs threat - warning it will wreck the Scottish and United States’ economies.
John Swinney has called on US president Donald Trump to back down from his threat to impose further tariffs on the UK – arguing it would cause “economic damage” on both sides of the Atlantic.
The SNP leader made the plea in the wake of the latest threat by Mr Trump to hike levies on goods entering the US, including Scotch whisky.
The president said he could “put a big tariff” on the UK if it does not drop its digital services tax on American social media firms.
The digital services tax, introduced in 2020, imposes a 2 per cent levy on the revenues of several major US tech companies.
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, Mr Trump said: “We’ve been looking at it and we can meet that very easily by just putting a big tariff on the UK, so they better be careful.
“If they don’t drop the tax, we’ll probably put a big tariff on the UK.”
The tax targets companies whose worldwide revenues from digital activities exceed £500 million, with more than £25m of the revenues from UK users.
Mr Trump said the charge, which has long been a source of tension in US-UK relations, targeted some of the “top companies in the world”.
Mr Swinney said he feared that further tariffs on the UK would do “economic damage” to the Scotch whisky sector.
Last year, the First Minister visited the White House and held talks with Mr Trump as part of efforts in vain for a re-think on whisky tariffs.
“My message to President Trump would be to not take forward any tariffs and to remove the tariffs he has in place already”, Mr Swinney said.
He added: “The tariffs are clearly damaging and we need to see them lifted so there can be a free movement of goods and trade and there can be no economic damage done as a consequence of a policy which is clearly doing economic damage.
“Tariffs are a very bad and damaging economic idea.”
Mr Swinney, speaking during a campaign visit to Greenock ahead of the May 7 Holyrood election, insisted that existing tariffs were “having a damaging effect on Scotch whisky”, adding that had been why he “went to such lengths to persuade President Trump to lift those tariffs”.
“I continue to make that case”, he added.
The SNP leader added: “The most recent threat from President Trump will simply deliver further economic damage to not only the United Kingdom but the United States.
“In the whisky example, although there is economic damage being delivered to the Scotch whisky industry here in Scotland there is also economic damage to a variety of interested industries within the United States.
“That just demonstrates that tariffs are bad for the economy, bad for jobs, and I would argue for there to be no tariffs in place.”
It came as Mr Swinney joined actor Martin Compston to warn of the “significant threat” Nigel Farage’s Reform UK poses in next month’s Holyrood election.
The duo hit the campaign trail in Greenock, Inverclyde – the home of both the Line Of Duty star and Malcolm Offord, the leader of Reform UK in Scotland.
Mr Compston accused Mr Farage of seeking to shrink Scotland’s budget and claimed the Reform leader would privatise the NHS “if he got half the chance”.
Mr Swinney added: “Martin and I share a common concern about the dangers that we face from the politics of Reform.”
He added that they had spoken about “the divisiveness they bring to our society”.
During the visit, Mr Swinney and Compston joined footballers at Greenock Morton FC – where the actor was once a player – on the pitch for a kickabout.
Mr Swinney said he and Compston “come from very similar views of the world about the need for us to have an inclusive, welcoming society”.
However the SNP leader claimed Reform is “the antithesis of all of that”.
He said: “It’s pretty obvious that Reform pose a significant threat in this election campaign.
“I have made it clear there will be no circumstances whatsoever in which there is any co-operation or collaboration between the SNP and Reform after the election.
“That’s the message Martin and I are putting forward.”
With support for Reform on the rise across the UK, Mr Swinney was clear he does not want the party “gaining a foothold” in governing in any part of the country – despite suggestions from pollsters that a Reform government at Westminster could drive up support for Scottish independence.
Mr Swinney said: “Wherever Reform are standing, I would encourage people to not vote in favour of Reform.
“I hope Reform do not make any headway because I think they bring division at all times.
“I don’t like the politics of Reform, I stand up to the politics of Reform at all times, I don’t want to see them gaining a foothold in the governance of any part of the United Kingdom, because I think they will just spread further division and disagreement and hostility within our society.”
Asked by The Scotsman about speculation lower voter turnout potentially helping Reform do well in the election, Mr Swinney said: “There’s a lot of speculation about the election outcome and none of us know what the election outcome will be.
“There’s a lot of people who have already cast their votes because they’ve cast postal ballots already.”
The SNP leader pointed to research by Ipsos Mori, published on Thursday, which he said showed a “rising level” of interest in the election.
He added: “That says to me that people are now paying much more attention to the election and are more engaged, which I think will result in their participation.”
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