“I am pleased to join President @vonderleyen in Scotland this Sunday for an important discussion with @POTUS about strengthening transatlantic trade,” Maros Sefcovic wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) ahead of the bilateral meeting scheduled for 15:30 GMT.
Donald Trump will host the European Union (EU) delegation at his golf resort in Turnberry, southeast Scotland. He will be accompanied by the U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to White House sources.
At this time, it is unclear whether there will be any official communication or statements to the press after the meeting. Any conclusions may take several days to materialize.
Following weeks of technical negotiations, Trump and Von der Leyen, along with their respective teams, will attempt to reach an agreement in principle to avoid a trade war between the two parties starting from August 1st.
The U.S. President is meeting the European Commission President as part of a personal four-day trip ending Tuesday with a visit to his other golf course in Aberdeen, northeast Scotland.
Von der Leyen attends the meeting hoping to reach an agreement to stop the threat of new 30% tariffs announced by Washington on European exports, which would take effect from August 1st if an agreement is not reached.
Brussels has indicated that its priority is stability, rather than escalating tariffs, which, in its view, would increase uncertainty and harm businesses.
According to diplomatic sources, both parties are moving towards a compromise that would set a 15% tax on European products.
This level would be similar to the agreement reached this week between the United States and Japan, close to the effective average tariff Washington already imposes on European products, which is about 14.8% after adding 10% to the previous 4.8% in some sectors.
Trump insists on reducing the trade deficit with the European Union and accuses the bloc of imposing 30% tariffs on American imports, a figure that, according to World Trade Organization (WTO) data, is above the real average, which is 4.1% on industrial products and 11% on agricultural products.
Despite the generally conciliatory tone, Von der Leyen arrives at the meeting supported by a €93 billion retaliatory measures package approved by most EU countries.
