Trump's Threat of Tariffs on Europe Escalates Greenland Tensions

Tue Jan 20 2026 08:27:20 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a bold statement, Donald Trump declares he will implement tariffs on European nations opposing his Greenland acquisition demand, prompting strong responses from European leaders regarding sovereignty.

Donald Trump has reiterated his commitment to impose tariffs on European countries resisting his demand for control over Greenland. European allies, including Denmark and the UK, have firmly supported Greenland's sovereignty and rejected Trump's threats. The situation has led to European leaders, including Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, and Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, to call for diplomacy over conflict. An emergency EU summit is planned to address these heightened tensions.

Donald Trump has vowed to 100% follow through on his threat to impose tariffs on European countries who oppose his demand to take control of Greenland.

European allies have rallied around Greenland's sovereignty. Denmark's foreign minister emphasised the US president cannot threaten his way to ownership of the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper reiterated the UK's position that the future of Greenland is for Greenlanders and for the Danes alone to decide.

On Monday, Trump declined to rule out the use of force and insisted he would press ahead with the threatened tariffs on goods arriving in the US from the UK and seven other Nato-allied countries.

Asked by NBC News if he would use force to seize Greenland, Trump answered: No comment.

The US president said he would charge Britain a 10% tariff on any and all goods sent to the US from 1 February, increasing to 25% from 1 June, until a deal is reached for Washington to purchase Greenland from Denmark.

Trump said the same would apply to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland, all members of the defence alliance Nato founded in 1949.

Asked if he will follow through on the tariff threat, Mr Trump told NBC News: I will, 100%.

Trump added: Europe ought to focus on the war with Russia and Ukraine because, frankly, you see what that's gotten them... That's what Europe should focus on - not Greenland.

Denmark has warned that US military action in Greenland would spell the end of Nato. Recently, Greenland received support from European members of the alliance, with some sending a few troops to Greenland last week in a symbolic move.

However, Trump followed that deployment with an announcement to impose tariffs on the eight Nato allies.

Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that Europe had to show President Trump tariff threats were not the way forward. We have red lines that can't be crossed, he told Sky News. You can't threaten your way to ownership of Greenland. I have no intention of escalating this situation.

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte stated the alliance will keep working with Denmark and Greenland on Arctic security.

The European Union is to hold an emergency summit in Brussels for its leaders on Thursday, where they will discuss how to respond to Trump's threats regarding Greenland.

Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, remarked that the bloc has no interest to pick a fight, but we will hold our ground and emphasized that trade threats are not the way to go about this. Sovereignty is not for trade.

In the backdrop, exchanges between Trump and the Norwegian prime minister revealed that on Sunday, Trump blamed Norway for not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump addressed this in Monday's interview, asserting, Norway totally controls it [the Nobel Prize] despite what they say.