EU Leaders Unite Against Trump’s Greenland Threat Tariffs

Europe has strongly rejected US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs over their opposition to his plans for Greenland, warning that such moves could damage transatlantic relations. On Sunday, European leaders said they were united against Trump’s vow to hit them with tariffs of up to 25 per cent unless Greenland is handed over to the United States.

Several European countries, including Denmark, which governs Greenland as an autonomous territory, joined the joint statement. Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden said: “Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”

The European Union, which already agreed in July to face a 15-per cent US levy on most EU exports, called an extraordinary meeting of its ambassadors in Brussels on Sunday. France’s President Emmanuel Macron will urge the EU to activate a never-before-used “anti-coercion instrument” against the United States if Trump follows through on his threat, Macron’s aides said. The bloc’s weapon — dubbed its trade “bazooka” — would allow the EU to curb imports of goods and services into its market of 27 countries and 450 million people.

Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to seize Greenland since returning to the White House for a second term, and his rhetoric has hardened since he ordered a military operation against Venezuela earlier this month to capture its leader, Nicolas Maduro. Trump and his administration argue that Greenland coming under US rule would serve American “national security”. They also say Denmark — although a NATO ally — would be unable to defend Greenland should Russia or China ever seek to invade.

Denmark and several European NATO allies recently sent small numbers of military personnel to Greenland for a military exercise, to which the United States was also invited. Some German soldiers were seen boarding a flight on Sunday after completing a recon mission. On Saturday, thousands of people in Greenland and Denmark held protests against the idea of the Arctic island falling under US control. “Make America Go Away” read the wording on caps worn by many of the protesters, riffing on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Greenland Tariff Threat Sparks European Backlash

Trump responded with a threat to impose tariffs on goods entering the US from Britain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland. He said the tariffs would start at 10 per cent from February 1 and rise to 25 per cent from June 1 “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Even some of Trump’s European allies criticized the threat. Italy’s far-right Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, called the threatened tariffs a “mistake,” saying: “I believe that imposing new sanctions today would be a mistake.” She added that she had spoken to Trump and told him what she thought. Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel described the threat as an “inexplicable” form of “blackmail.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was planning to discuss the situation with Trump “at the earliest opportunity,” UK culture minister Lisa Nandy told the BBC, calling the president’s tariff threat “wrong.” “We believe it’s deeply unhelpful, and we believe it’s counterproductive, and the prime minister has not shied away from making that clear,” she said.

France’s Agricultural Minister Annie Genevard warned that tariffs would also harm Washington, saying: “In this escalation of tariffs, (Trump) has a lot to lose as well, as do his own farmers and industrialists.” Norway, targeted by the tariff threat but not an EU member, said it was not currently considering retaliation against US goods. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told NRK television: “I think one needs to stop and think so that a trade war can be averted that would lead to a downward spiral. Nobody would win.”

Faced with increased pressure over Greenland, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen announced he would visit fellow NATO members Norway, Britain and Sweden in the coming days to discuss the alliance’s Arctic security policy.