Trump wants to impose tariffs on European countries opposed to buying Greenland

United States President Donald Trump vowed on Saturday (17) to implement a wave of escalating tariffs on European allies until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland, escalating the dispute over the future of Denmark’s vast Arctic island.

In a post on his own social network, Truth Social, Trump said that additional import tariffs of 10% would come into effect on February 1 on products from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and the United Kingdom. All already subject to tariffs imposed by Trump.

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These tariffs would rise to 25% on June 1 and would continue until an agreement is reached for the US to buy Greenland, Trump wrote.

Europe

The announcement comes on the same day that Mercosur and the European Union signed a free trade agreement 25 years in the making. In speeches during the signing of the agreement in Paraguay, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, praised the partnership with the South Americans and criticized Trump’s tariff policy, even without mentioning him.

“This agreement sends a very strong message to the world. We chose fair trade over tariffs. We chose long-term partnerships over isolation,” said Von der Leyen.

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The president of the European Council, António Costa, adopted a similar tone.

“This agreement is a commitment to openness, exchange and cooperation, in the face of [threats of] isolation and the use of trade as a geopolitical weapon,” he said. “With it, we don’t aspire to create spheres of influence, but rather spheres of shared prosperity, based on trust, cooperation and respect for the sovereignty of our democracies,” he added.

In the face of Trump’s threats, prominent European Union countries have backed Denmark, warning that a US military takeover of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) territory could collapse the Washington-led military alliance. The United Kingdom also gave its support.

Groups in Denmark and Greenland protested on Saturday against Trump’s demands and called for the country to be left to determine its own future.

Greenland and the USA

The president has repeatedly said that Greenland is vital to US security due to its strategic location and large mineral deposits, and has not ruled out the use of force to take it. European nations this week sent military personnel to the island at Denmark’s request.

“These countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk into play that is not sustainable,” Trump wrote.

“The United States of America is immediately open to negotiations with Denmark and/or any of these countries that have put so much at risk, despite everything we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades,” he said.

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* With information from Reuters