European nations warn of 'dangerous downward spiral' after Trump threatens tariffs over Greenland
Several countries sent troops to Greenland in recent days for Arctic security training
European Union ambassadors reached a broad agreement on Sunday to intensify efforts to dissuade U.S. President Donald Trump from imposing tariffs on European allies, while also preparing retaliatory measures should the duties go ahead, EU diplomats said.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced earlier this weekend that eight countries — EU members Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, along with Britain and Norway — will face a 10 per cent tariff for opposing American control of Greenland.
EU leaders are set to discuss options at an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday. One option is a package of tariffs on 93 billion euros ($150 billion Cdn) of U.S. imports that could automatically kick in on February 6 after a six-month suspension.
The other is the so far never used "Anti-Coercion Instrument" (ACI), which could limit access to public tenders, investments or banking activity or restrict trade in services, in which the U.S. has a surplus with the bloc, including in digital services.
The tariff package appeared to command broader support as a first response than anti-coercion measures, where the picture was currently "very mixed," according to an EU source.
Trump’s threat sets up a potentially dangerous test of U.S. partnerships in Europe. Several European countries have sent troops to Greenland in recent days, saying they are there for Arctic security training. Trump’s announcement came Saturday as thousands of Greenlanders were wrapping up a protest outside the U.S. Consulate in the capital, Nuuk.
"Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," the eight affected countries said in a statement on Sunday.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a written statement she was heartened by the consistent messages from the rest of the continent, adding: "Europe will not be blackmailed."
The Republican president appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks with Denmark and other European countries over the status of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that he regards as critical to U.S. national security. The eight countries that signed the statement would face the tariff.
There are immediate questions about how the White House could try to implement the tariffs because the European Union is a single economic zone in terms of trading, according to a European diplomat who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from the divisions between the U.S. and Europe. She added in a post on social media: “If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity."
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is “concerned” about U.S. “escalation” on its push to buy Greenland after it threatened to impose tariffs on the eight European nations opposed to the plan.
Speaking to reporters in Doha, Qatar, Carney said Canada will always support sovereignty and territorial integrity and that the future of Greenland is up to its people and Denmark.
The prime minister said Greenland is protected through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and that Canada is committed to working with alliance partners in increasing Arctic defence capabilities.
Carney said he will share this message with Trump if he sees the president in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum this coming week.
The tariff announcement even drew blowback from Trump’s populist allies in Europe.
Italy’s right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who is considered one of Trump’s closest allies on the continent, said Sunday she had spoken to him about the tariffs, which she described as "a mistake."
The deployment to Greenland of small numbers of troops by some European countries was misunderstood by Washington, Meloni told reporters during a two-day visit to South Korea. She said the deployment was not a move against the U.S. but aimed to provide security against "other actors" that she didn’t name.
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in France and also a European Parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last year’s tariff deal with the U.S., describing Trump’s threats as "commercial blackmail."
Trump also achieved the rare feat of uniting Britain’s main political parties — including the hard-right Reform UK party — all of whom criticized the tariff threat.
"We don’t always agree with the U.S. government and in this case we certainly don’t. These tariffs will hurt us," Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a longtime champion and ally of Trump, wrote on social media. He stopped short of criticizing Trump’s designs on Greenland.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads the centre-left Labour Party, said the tariff announcement was "completely wrong" and that his government would "be pursuing this directly with the U.S. administration."
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Norway are also expected to address the crisis on Sunday in Oslo during a news conference.
With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press