EU leans toward negotiation after Trump threatens tariffs over Greenland

European Union officials began to coalesce around a negotiation strategy on Sunday after President Trump threatened punitive tariffs if the United States could not acquire Greenland, and ambassadors from the 27-nation bloc held an emergency meeting in Brussels. Mr. Trump had demanded a deal to buy Greenland and warned on social media that he would impose tariffs on a group of European nations, starting at 10 percent in February and rising to 25 percent in June.

Preliminary talks among EU ambassadors made clear that officials would rather negotiate than retaliate, but they also said they were committed to protecting Greenland — an autonomous territory of Denmark — from being bought or taken over if that is not what its people want. The Trump administration showed no sign of backing down.

In an NBC ‘‘Meet the Press’’ interview, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said European leaders would eventually understand that American control of Greenland would be ‘‘best for Greenland, best for Europe and best for the United States.’’ If Washington continues to escalate, European officials could consider responding: two diplomats familiar with the discussions said they are entertaining allowing a list of retaliatory tariffs worth 93 billion euros to take effect in February.

Key Topics

World, Greenland, European Union, Donald Trump, Denmark, Anti-coercion Instrument