BERLIN – On Sunday, Europeans were taken aback by U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration imposing a 10% tariff on eight nations that oppose American oversight of Greenland.
The reactions to Trump’s Saturday announcement varied widely, with some warning it could lead to “a perilous decline” in relations and others noting that “China and Russia are likely reveling in the chaos.”
This latest move by Trump could severely test U.S.-European alliances. In recent days, several European countries have dispatched troops to Greenland, citing Arctic security exercises. The president’s announcement coincided with a large protest by Greenlanders outside the U.S. Consulate in Nuuk.
Trump, a Republican, seemed to be leveraging the tariffs to initiate dialogue with Denmark and other European nations regarding Greenland’s status. Greenland, a semiautonomous region of NATO member Denmark, is viewed by Trump as vital to U.S. security. Countries like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland were singled out for the tariff.
There are pressing questions about the feasibility of enforcing these tariffs, given the EU’s status as a unified trading bloc, as noted by a European diplomat who preferred to remain anonymous. It remains uncertain how Trump might proceed under U.S. law, although he might invoke emergency economic powers, which are currently under scrutiny by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, remarked that the discord between the U.S. and Europe could be advantageous to China and Russia. She expressed on social media: “If Greenland’s security is in jeopardy, NATO should address it. Tariffs threaten to impoverish both Europe and the United States and weaken our collective economic strength.”
Trump’s move also was panned domestically.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot and Democrat who represents Arizona, posted that Trump’s threatened tariffs on U.S. allies would make Americans “pay more to try to get territory we don’t need.”
“Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,” he wrote on social media. “The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.”
‘Risk a dangerous downward spiral’
Norway and the U.K. are not part of the 27-member EU, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was not immediately clear if Trump’s tariffs would impact the entire bloc. EU envoys scheduled emergency talks for Sunday evening to determine a potential response.
António Costa, president of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, pledged to continue their full solidarity with Denmark and Greenland.
“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty,” they wrote in a joint statement late Saturday.
The tariff announcement even drew blowback from Trump’s populist allies in Europe.
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, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads the center-left Labour Party, said the tariffs announcement was “completely wrong” and 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 Sunday in Oslo during a news conference.
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Leicester reported from Paris and Cook from Brussels. Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London and Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
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