Trump threatens escalating tariffs on European allies until Greenland is sold

Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs on a range of European countries unless the United States is allowed to purchase Greenland, announcing the move in a post on Truth Social that threatened duties of up to 25%. Trump said a 10% tariff would begin on 1 February on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland, and that it would rise to 25% on 1 June.

He wrote the tariff would remain "until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland," and said allied countries had "journeyed to Greenland," an apparent reference to Nato troop deployments to the territory. The president argued Greenland’s current status posed a national security threat to the US and suggested, incorrectly, that residents had "two dogsleds as protection," and that China and Russia wanted Greenland.

His interest in the territory intensified following a US raid earlier in January that captured Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro, the post said, but Denmark and other allies have disputed the national security claim. The threat follows a history of Mr Trump using tariffs as a negotiating tool and is set to strain relations: UK figures including Kemi Badenoch and Ed Davey rebuked the move, analysts have warned the US economy could be harmed, and a Reuters/Ipsos poll found fewer than one in five Americans approve of efforts to acquire Greenland.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Greenland, Denmark, Nato, Tariffs