Trump imposes 10% tariffs on 8 EU countries over Greenland stance: NPR

NUUK, Greenland — President Donald Trump said Saturday he will impose a 10 percent import tax starting in February on goods from eight European countries because of their opposition to U.S. control of Greenland.

Trump said in a social media post that Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face tariffs, rising to 25% on June 1 if a deal was not reached for the “complete and total purchase of Greenland” by the United States.

The threat of tariffs was a drastic and potentially dangerous escalation of a confrontation between Trump and his NATO allies, further straining an alliance that dates to 1949 and provides a degree of collective security to Europe and North America. The Republican president has repeatedly tried to use trade sanctions to bend allies and rivals to his will, generating investment commitments from some countries and reluctance from others, such as China, Brazil and India.

It’s unclear how Trump could impose tariffs under U.S. law, although he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently under challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump said in his Truth Social article that his tariffs were in retaliation for recent trips to Greenland by representatives of Britain, the Netherlands and Finland and general opposition to his efforts to purchase the semi-autonomous territory from NATO ally Denmark. He believes Greenland is critical to the United States’ “Golden Dome” missile defense system and has argued that Russia and China could attempt to seize the island.

Resistance to Trump’s ambitions has gradually built in Europe, even as several countries on the continent accepted his 15% tariffs last year in order to preserve their economic and security relations with Washington.

Earlier Saturday, hundreds of people in Greenland’s capital braved near-freezing temperatures, rain and icy streets to demonstrate for their own self-government.

Greenlanders waved their red and white national flags and listened to traditional songs while strolling through the small town center of Nuuk. Some carried signs with messages such as “We shape our future”, “Greenland is not for sale” and “Greenland is already GREAT”. They were joined by thousands of others in rallies across the Danish kingdom.

The rallies came hours after a bipartisan US congressional delegation in Copenhagen sought to reassure Denmark and Greenland of their support.

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said the current rhetoric around Greenland was causing concern throughout the Danish kingdom and he wanted to defuse the situation.

“I hope that the people of the Kingdom of Denmark will not abandon their trust in the American people,” he said in Copenhagen, adding that the United States respected Denmark and NATO “for everything we have done together.”

NATO training exercises

Danish Maj. Gen. Søren Andersen, head of Joint Arctic Command, told The Associated Press that Denmark does not expect the U.S. military to attack Greenland, or any other NATO ally, and that European troops were recently deployed to Nuuk for Arctic defense training.

He said the goal was not to send a message to the Trump administration, although the White House has not ruled out taking the territory by force.

“I won’t get into the political part, but I will say that I would never expect a NATO country to attack another NATO country,” he told the AP on Saturday aboard a Danish military ship docked in Nuuk. “For us, for me, it’s not about signaling. It’s actually about training military units, working with their allies.”

The Danish military held a planning meeting in Greenland with NATO allies including the United States on Friday to discuss Arctic security on the alliance’s northern flank in the face of a potential Russian threat. The Americans have also been invited to participate in Operation Arctic Endurance in Greenland in the coming days, Mr. Andersen said.

In his two and a half years as commander in Greenland, Andersen said he had not seen any Chinese or Russian combat ships or warships, although Trump said they were off the island’s coast.

But in the unlikely event that U.S. troops use force on Danish soil, Andersen upheld a Cold War-era law governing Danish rules of engagement.

“But you are right: Danish law states that a Danish soldier, if attacked, has an obligation to fight back,” he said.

“Important for the whole world”

Thousands of people marched in Copenhagen, many of them flying the Greenland flag. Others held signs with slogans such as “Make America Smart Again” and “Hands Off.”

“This is important for the whole world,” Danish protester Elise Riechie told the AP, waving Danish and Greenlandic flags. “There are many small countries. None of them are for sale.”

Trump has sought to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover by repeatedly saying that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals.

“There is currently no threat to the security of Greenland,” Coons said.

Trump has insisted for months that the United States should control Greenland and said earlier this week that anything other than the Arctic island being in US hands would be “unacceptable.”

At an unrelated White House event on rural health care, he recounted Friday how he had threatened his European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

“I could do it for Greenland too,” Trump said.

He had not previously mentioned the use of tariffs to try to force the issue.

Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington with Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

This meeting did not resolve the deep differences, but nevertheless resulted in an agreement to create a working group – on the objectives of which Denmark and the White House then displayed very divergent public views.

European leaders have said it is solely up to Denmark and Greenland to decide on issues regarding the territory, and Denmark said this week it was increasing its military presence in Greenland in cooperation with its allies.

“There is virtually no better ally of the United States than Denmark,” Coons said. “If we do things that make the Danes question whether we can be counted on as NATO allies, why would any other country seek to be our ally or believe in our representations?”