Trump announces new tariffs on some European countries in Greenland standoff

President Trump announced in a social media post Saturday morning his latest strategy to take control of Greenland: he imposes new tariffs on a bloc of European countries until they come to the negotiating table to sell Greenland.

Greenland is a territory of Denmark, which will face a 10% tariff on all goods sent to the United States starting February 1, Mr. Trump wrote in a social media post. Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Finland, other NATO members who have expressed solidarity with Denmark in refusing to give in to Mr Trump’s demands, will also be subject to the 10% tariffs. If these countries do not relent, he added, the rate will increase to 25% on June 1, “until an agreement is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland.”

The threat comes as the Supreme Court considers overturning the legal authority the president would likely use to impose these tariffs. The court is expected to rule in the coming weeks on Mr. Trump’s use of an emergency law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which the president has used to threaten tariffs against numerous countries over the past year.

If the court rules against Mr. Trump, the president may not be able to impose such tariffs. It should defer to other legal authorities that require it to conduct investigations or meet other standards.

The United States currently imposes tariffs of 10 percent on British imports and 15 percent on imports from the European Union, after reaching limited trade deals with both governments last year. The new tariffs would likely be imposed on top of that, and it remains to be seen how other trading partners would react.

It was just yesterday, at a health care event at the White House, that Mr. Trump publicly mused about doing something like this. “I could impose tariffs on countries if they don’t accept Greenland,” he said, almost parenthetically.

A day later, the 435-word message he posted was striking in its language about U.S. allies. He reiterated the worldview held by Mr. Trump for decades, that the United States has been cheated and that revenge is long in coming.

“We have subsidized Denmark, as well as all European Union countries and others, for many years by not imposing tariffs or any other form of remuneration on them,” he wrote. “Now, after centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back: world peace is at stake! »

He wrote about “all we have done for them, including maximum protection, for so many decades.”

The post and the threat of new tariffs it brings constitute a marked escalation in Mr. Trump’s pressure campaign. Earlier this week, a delegation from Denmark and Greenland traveled to Washington to meet with Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Little has been achieved.

Also this week, several European countries, including France, joined Denmark in conducting military exercises in Greenland.