EU officials favor negotiation over retaliation after Trump’s Greenland tariff threat

Faced with President Trump’s demand to buy Greenland and his threat to impose tariffs if rebuffed, European Union leaders began to coalesce around a negotiation strategy on Sunday, though they did not rule out retaliatory measures. Ambassadors from the 27-nation bloc met in Brussels to take stock, and officials said they would rather negotiate than retaliate.

They emphasized protecting Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, from being bought or taken over if that is not what its people want. Mr. Trump had said on social media he would start with 10 percent tariffs in February and raise them to 25 percent in June if no deal was reached.

The Trump administration showed no signs of backing down: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview that European leaders would “come around,” and Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social saying NATO had told Denmark for 20 years to address a Russian threat to Greenland and adding, “Now it is time, and it will be done!!!” European officials are also considering other responses.

Diplomats said they might allow a list of retaliatory tariffs worth 93 billion euros, drawn up during last year’s trade war, to take effect in February, and some have suggested using the EU’s so-called anti-coercion instrument—unofficially dubbed a trade “bazooka”—to target large American service providers, though that would risk escalation.

Key Topics

World, Greenland, Denmark, European Union, Donald Trump, Retaliatory Tariffs