Trump Urges UK to Tap Its 'Treasure Chest'

Before leaving Scotland, President Trump called on the UK to ramp up oil drilling in the North Sea, branding the region an overlooked "treasure chest" mired in high taxes. Trump criticized the country's clean energy focus on Truth Social, urging government ministers to "incentivize the drillers, FAST" to bring "A VAST FORTUNE" to the UK and "far lower energy costs for the people!" He was essentially echoing the previous Conservative government, which vowed to "max out" the North Sea, per the New York Times. But oil production there has been falling for years, dropping from over a million barrels per day five years ago to 653,000 barrels today.

Despite this decline, the sector remains central to Britain's energy supply and job market—making it a political flashpoint for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose Labour government is pushing to reduce emissions and expand wind and nuclear power, aiming for renewables to supply over half the country's electricity by 2030. Starmer recently raised the oil and gas tax rate to 78%, one of the highest worldwide. Other European nations have lowered energy taxes that jumped when Russia invaded Ukraine, but the UK hasn't followed suit.

Industry analysts say Britain's tax rate is unusually steep and, combined with policy uncertainty, has unsettled energy companies. Still, experts note that any new drilling would have only a minor effect on energy prices. Trump has long opposed wind energy, which he calls unsightly and expensive. But environmental advocates dismiss his calls for more drilling as out of touch with the North Sea's reality as a basin in decline. Trump counters that there's a "century of drilling left," per the Independent. Starmer's government maintains that oil and gas will persist for years, but renewables remain Britain's future.