After a day of royal pomp, President Trump’s go to to the UK wraps up Thursday with a enterprise reception and a gathering with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
From royal pageantry to politics. President Trump wraps up his state go to to the UK immediately. After royal processions and a sleepover at Windsor Fort, Trump strikes on to talks on commerce and international coverage. He is assembly enterprise leaders and Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier than making his manner house to Washington. NPR’s Lauren Frayer is at Windsor Fort and reporting on all this, and he or she joins us now. Good morning.
LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: OK Lauren, so President Trump is specializing in enterprise offers immediately. Inform us about that.
FRAYER: Yeah, quite a lot of offers have already been introduced, really. The U.S. and U.Okay. authorities say it is within the a whole lot of billions of {dollars} value of offers, from a $30 billion funding from Microsoft, practically $7 billion from Google, principally within the U.Okay.’s synthetic intelligence business, but additionally the monetary sector and nuclear power partnerships. The satan is absolutely within the particulars, although, as a result of a few of the greenback figures being bandied round are literally over a number of years, and a few are pledges, not really checks written and handed over. Plenty of the tech CEOs, although, have been ultimately evening’s state banquet – Apple’s Tim Cook dinner, OpenAI’s Sam Altman. So we’re seeing this kind of mixing of enterprise and state affairs that is change into fairly frequent on this Trump administration. One other factor on the agenda immediately is tariffs. I spoke to Duncan Edwards. He is the CEO of British American Enterprise, which is kind of like a transatlantic Chamber of Commerce. And he says the U.Okay. is lobbying for decrease tariff charges.
DUNCAN EDWARDS: The president had indicated that he would possibly attempt to be useful. However to be sincere, we’re not that hopeful that there shall be a lot change.
FRAYER: You will recall the U.Okay. reduce an early commerce cope with this Trump administration, however U.Okay. metal nonetheless faces a 25% tariff. Scotch whiskey additionally faces 10%. We’ll see if Trump is sympathetic to reducing these charges.
FADEL: OK. So in a manner, all of the royal therapy is a technique to emphasize the power of the so-called U.S.-U.Okay. particular relationship earlier than getting all the way down to some doubtlessly robust matters?
FRAYER: Yeah. I imply, Trump has clearly basked within the royal consideration. He is been handled like a king by an precise king. He stated in his banquet toast final evening that this go to is likely one of the highest honors of his life. Up till now, it has been a royal go to, which isn’t speculated to be political.
FADEL: OK.
FRAYER: However King Charles may very well be a form of Trump whisperer right here. And his personal toast final evening, the King reminded Trump that the U.S. and U.Okay. fought collectively in two world wars to, quote, “defeat the forces of tyrany.”
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KING CHARLES III: At the moment, as tyrany as soon as once more threatens Europe, we and our allies stand collectively in assist of Ukraine.
FRAYER: And, you realize, anyone who noticed Trump’s oval workplace argument with Ukraine’s president again in February might hear that from the king as a kind of minor scolding. And we’ll see if this comes up extra straight with Prime Minister Starmer this afternoon.
FADEL: OK. Talking of Starmer, his authorities is getting ready to acknowledge a Palestinian state later this month. Is that anticipated to create friction with the US?
FRAYER: I imply, actually among the many protesters I have been interviewing outdoors the fort partitions, individuals are waving Palestinian flags. I additionally noticed one Israeli flag within the crowd. Final evening on All Issues Thought of, we heard from a high U.Okay. politician who boycotted Trump’s state banquet over U.S. assist for Israel’s army operation in Gaza. And so when Starmer stands up there at a press convention with Trump, his job is to not have this flip right into a confrontation.
FADEL: That is NPR’s Lauren Frayer in Windsor, England. Thanks a lot, Lauren.
FRAYER: Thanks, Leila.
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