Europe Hits Back at Trump’s Tariff Threat Over Greenland
European leaders issued strong criticisms and coordinated responses after U.S. President Donald Trump
announced plans to impose tariffs on several European countries over their opposition to his bid to
acquire Greenland.
Trump’s announcement last weekend on his social media platform detailed plans to impose a 10
percent tariff on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the
Netherlands and Finland, beginning February 1, 2026, with the rate scheduled to rise to 25 percent on
June 1 if no agreement is reached on Greenland. The tariffs were framed by the U.S. president as
leverage in discussions over the Arctic territory.
European governments responded with unusually blunt language describing Trump’s tariff threats as
unacceptable and damaging to transatlantic relations.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that “no amount of intimidation or threat will influence us” in
matters such as Greenland or Ukraine and affirmed that European nations would respond in a
coordinated manner if the tariffs were implemented.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa
issued a joint statement declaring that Trump’s tariff threat would undermine transatlantic relations and
risk a dangerous downward spiral, and reiterated solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland
in defending sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Leaders in individual European capitals also spoke out. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the
plan as completely wrong and reaffirmed that Greenland’s future should be determined by
Greenlanders and Denmark.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson rejected the proposed tariffs as blackmail, while Finland’s Prime
Minister Petteri Orpo said tariffs would be harmful to both Europe and the United States.
In addition to diplomatic pushback, European capitals are considering retaliatory measures. Major EU
states have discussed activating the Anti-Coercion Instrument, a tool that could impose economic
countermeasures against the U.S., including retaliatory tariffs or restrictions on American companies’
access to the European market.
Discussions have also covered a previously prepared tariff list affecting up to €93 billion worth of U.S.
goods, which was drawn up over earlier trade disputes but suspended following a trade agreement
signed last year.
The dispute has intensified months of tension between Washington and its European allies and posed
challenges for cooperation on broader security and economic issues, including NATO engagement in the
Arctic and ongoing negotiations at the World Economic Forum in Davos later this week.
European leaders have stressed that their response will be coordinated, grounded in international law
and aimed at preserving the long-standing partnership across the Atlantic, even as they warn that trade
retaliation could escalate if the tariff threats are enacted.
By Oyinkansola Shittu.
