EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has headed to Scotland ahead of a meeting with US President Donald Trump, as speculation mounts of a trade agreement.

Trump, in Scotland for a few days of golfing and bilateral meetings, told reporters upon his arrival on Friday evening that he was looking forward to meeting with von der Leyen, calling her a “highly respected” leader.

He repeated his view that there was a 50-50 chance that the US and the 27-member European Union could reach a framework trade pact.

He added that Brussels wanted to “make a deal very badly”.

If it happened, he said it would be the biggest trade agreement reached yet by his administration, surpassing the $US550 billion ($826 billion) accord agreed with Japan last week.

The White House has released no details about the planned meeting or the terms of the emerging agreement.

The European Commission on Thursday said a negotiated trade solution with the United States was within reach, even as EU members voted to approve counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros ($164 billion) of US goods in case the talks collapse.

To get a deal, Trump said the EU would have to “buy down” that tariff rate, although he gave no specifics.

EU diplomats say a possible deal between Washington and Brussels would likely include a broad 15 per cent tariff on EU goods imported into the US, mirroring the US-Japan deal, along with a 50 per cent tariff on European steel and aluminium.

The broad tariff rate would be half the 30 per cent duties that Trump has threatened to slap on EU goods from August 1.

It remains unclear if Washington will agree to exempt the EU from sectoral tariffs on cars, pharmaceuticals and other goods that have already been announced or are pending.

Combining goods, services and investment, the EU and the United States are each other’s largest trading partners by far.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Brussels warned in March that any conflict would jeopardise $US9.5 ($14.3) trillion of business in the world’s most important commercial relationship.

Low profile as Epstein questions swirl

Trump worked on his golf handicap at his Scottish course, as questions swirled at home about his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

On arrival on Friday night, he told reporters that he will visit his two golf properties in Scotland – one in Turnberry and the other near Aberdeen.

As well as von der Leyen, he was also due to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Scottish leader John Swinney.

Frustrated by continued questions about his administration’s handling of investigative files related to Epstein’s criminal charges and his 2019 death in prison, Trump told reporters to focus on bigger issues and other people.

“You make it a very big thing over something that’s not a big thing,” Trump said.

“Don’t talk about Trump. What you should be talking about is the fact that we have the greatest six months in the history of a presidency.”

Trump was spotted on the golf course on Saturday morning, but he had no public events scheduled.

The White House hopes some time out of the limelight will allow the Epstein controversy to die down. Photo: AAP

Dressed in black, with a white cap that said USA on it, Trump could be seen driving a golf buggy, flanked by a fleet of security personnel.

Reporters and supporters were kept away.

Protests took place in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, hundreds of kilometres away.

The White House said Trump was golfing on Saturday with his son, Eric, and the US ambassador to Britain, Warren Stephens, and his son.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was also on the course.

Hundreds gathered in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen – near the site of Trump’s other Scottish golf resort – to make their opposition to the president known.

In Aberdeen, Scottish MP Maggie Chapman told the crowd of hundreds: “We stand in solidarity not only against Trump but against everything he and his politics stand for”.

“He is not welcome in Scotland, he is certainly not welcome in Aberdeenshire,” she said.

Another protester, Anita Bhadani, hailed the “carnival of resistance” and said Trump’s “huge promises” of creating thousands of jobs through development around his Scottish golf courses had not come to pass.

Trump bought the Turnberry property, which includes a hotel and golf course, for $US60 million ($90 million) in 2014, in the hope of returning the course to the rotation for the Open Championship, but said his visit was “not about that”.

Turnberry has been the site of the golf major four times, the most recent being in 2009.

It has not hosted the event since then, amid concerns about the lack of accommodation and infrastructure for an event that draws hundreds of thousands.

The Scottish government has flagged £180,000 ($363,108) of public money to support a tournament at the Trump International golf links in Aberdeenshire, citing a tourism and economic boost.

The 2025 Nexo Championship, previously known as the Scottish Championship, is set to take place there next month.

But Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie likened the awarding of public cash to the tournament to “handing some pocket money to the school bully”.

Trump will travel in the coming days to his property near Aberdeen, where he will open a second course named after his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born and raised on a Scottish island before emigrating to the United States.

White House officials hope some time out of the limelight will allow the Epstein controversy to die down, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

—AAP