Donald Trump has a personal connection to Scotland. His mother grew up on the Isle of Lewis, and he owns a golf course in Aberdeenshire. Trump now seems set to buy another golf course later this year.
However, Scotland is unlikely to receive special treatment. Trump could impose tariffs of 10 to 20 per cent on goods Scotland exports to the United States.
Trump has already withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement, pleading to “drill, baby, drill.”
Activist group Greenpeace condemned Trump’s decision: “combatting the climate crisis requires international cooperation, not isolationism.”
Despite these developments, Deputy First Minister Kate Formes was optimistic about the impact on the Scottish clean air industry. She encouraged more green investment in Scotland because of “regulatory and policy certainty about our move [to net zero].”
Students at the University of Edinburgh remain concerned. One American student in Edinburgh told The Student that her parents encouraged her to renew her visa until the end of Trump’s term, and another said she felt “helpless,” but “relieved to be removed from the situation.”
“At Donald Trump’s Golf Course” by GOC53 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.