The US government is imposing additional 10% tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland and the Netherlands, which will remain in force until an agreement is reached for the acquisition of Greenland by the United States. This was announced by the US President, Donald Trump, on Saturday 17 January.
According to a post by Trump on the social network Truth Social:
“From 1 February 2026, all the aforementioned countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland and the Netherlands) will be subject to 10% tariffs on all products shipped to the United States.
On 1 June 2026, these tariffs will increase to 25%.
These tariffs will be imposed and paid until an agreement is reached for the full and complete acquisition of Greenland.”
Antonio Costa (European Council): The EU is preparing a joint tough response to Trump’s tariffs over Greenland
The EU is preparing a joint response to US tariffs against Northern European countries, said the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa.
“We must create zones of economic integration, not increase tariffs.
The European Union will always firmly uphold international law. At this moment I am coordinating a joint response from the EU Member States on this issue,” said Antonio Costa.
The US President, Trump, announced tariffs against Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland due to their stance on Greenland.
The tariff will take effect on 1 February at 10%, rising to 25% in June.
It will apply to all goods until the “full and complete acquisition of Greenland”.
The Armed Forces of Denmark announced that they will strengthen their military presence on the island in close cooperation with NATO allies and will begin exercises there.
France, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany and Slovenia have already announced that they will send troops.
Trump claims that the United States is ready for immediate negotiations regarding the status of the island with any of the countries he lists.
He claims that the United States has subsidized Denmark and all EU countries for years without any compensation. Now, he claims, they are “playing a dangerous game” by blocking his claims to Greenland.
The US Ambassador to the UN stated that the president’s efforts to annex Greenland do not violate international law, because he is simply “trying to make a deal”.
Manfred Weber (People’s Party): The European Parliament considers it impossible to approve the trade agreement with the US
Approval of the EU–US trade agreement is currently impossible due to the threats of US President Trump to impose tariffs, said Manfred Weber, President of the European People’s Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament, on social media.
“The European People’s Party supports an EU–US trade agreement, but given Trump’s threats regarding Greenland, approval is not possible at this stage,” emphasized Manfred Weber.
Trump announced tariffs against Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland due to their stance on Greenland.
The tariffs will take effect on 1 February at 10%, rising to 25% in June.
They will apply to all goods until the “full and complete acquisition of Greenland”.
Ursula von der Leyen (EU): Trump’s tariffs undermine transatlantic relations, with a tendency to worsen - Macron: Trump is unacceptable
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that this would undermine transatlantic relations, creating the risk of further deterioration.
French President Macron described the American President’s threats as unacceptable, promising a “coordinated response” from Europeans, while the British Prime Minister intends to discuss the issue with American authorities.
The German government and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced efforts to coordinate their response.
The head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and special representative of President Putin for investments and economic cooperation characterized Trump’s threat as a collapse of the transatlantic alliance or NATO.
Dangerous game
Donald Trump believes that the European countries that have deployed troops in Greenland have started a “very dangerous game”. He stated this on Truth Social.
According to Trump:
“Additionally, the countries Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland have traveled to Greenland for unknown purposes,” referring to the deployment of troops by the aforementioned countries.
“This is a very dangerous situation regarding the security and survival of the planet.”
“The countries playing this very dangerous game have created a level of risk that is unacceptable.”
“Therefore, to protect global peace and security, decisive measures must be taken so that this potentially dangerous situation ends quickly and without pending issues,” Trump added.
Donald Trump stated that Washington is ready to immediately begin negotiations with Denmark and several European countries regarding the integration of Greenland into the United States.
“The United States has been trying to carry out this deal for 150 years,” Trump emphasized on Truth Social, referring to potential agreements for the integration of Greenland into the US.
“Many US Presidents tried, in a polite manner, but Denmark always refused.”
As the American leader added: “The United States is ready to immediately begin negotiations with Denmark, as well as with European countries that have expressed their support regarding the situation around Greenland and have sent their forces there.”
Mike Waltz: International law is not violated, Truman bought the Virgin Islands from Denmark
The Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, Mike Waltz, stated on Saturday 17 January that Washington’s claims to Greenland do not violate international law and that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, is simply “trying to close a deal” to buy the island.
“From the perspective of international law, President Trump is trying to make a deal, just as the [33rd] President of the United States, Harry Truman, tried to do in the 1940s, as we also did with the Virgin Islands, which we acquired from Denmark for 25 million dollars in the 20th century.
There is nothing wrong with that,” he said in an interview with Fox News.
Ironic statement by Dmitriev: Europe should not provoke Daddy Trump
The Special Representative of the Russian President for Investments and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, Kirill Dmitriev, stated that the European Union should not provoke US President Donald Trump by returning the troops that have been sent to Greenland.
“Dear Ursula ‘Pfizer’ von der Leyen, do not provoke Daddy. Take back the 13 soldiers sent to Greenland,” Dmitriev wrote on X.
He noted that the US could increase tariffs by 1% for each European soldier on the island.
Ace up the sleeve
Greenland, with a population of just over 55.000 inhabitants, has opposed pressure from Washington.
Denmark, to which the autonomous territory that includes the largest island in the world belongs, hopes for help from its allies.
At the same time, in countries such as Germany, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Sweden, they are painfully calculating the cost of a trade war with America.
Trump’s tariffs are a serious matter and will directly hit their pockets.
The worst for the European Union is that Trump still has another “ace up his sleeve”, which he can use at any time, even without resorting to the Delta Force special forces, known from Venezuela.
Strategic importance of Greenland
Donald Trump’s statements regarding the need to control Greenland are no longer considered eccentric political exaggeration in Europe.
Certain NATO countries, Germany, France and the Netherlands, have already deployed troops on the island.
Greenland is a critical element for the American early warning and missile defense system, but even more important for Trump is that it possesses potentially significant reserves of rare earths, oil and natural gas, and controls Arctic trade routes, the importance of which is increasing with the melting of the ice.
French political scientist Bertrand Badie, researcher at the Institute of Political Studies, emphasizes that Greenland has become a “turning point in the transition from classical geopolitics to Arctic geoeconomics”, where sovereignty is increasingly linked to resources and technology.
Trump links the island to the Golden Dome missile defense system and to the strategy of containing Russia and China.
Why Trump will not back down
For Trump, Greenland is not an object of symbolic “purchase”, but a tool for demonstrating American dominance.
His logic has multiple levels:
1) Military: Control of the Arctic and strengthening of missile defense.
2) Geoeconomic: Access to resources and logistics corridors.
3) Political: Mobilization of voters around the idea of a “tough America”.
4) Alliance related: Testing Europe’s loyalty.
American analysts, as reported by Anadolu Agency, point out that this rhetoric deliberately blurs the boundaries of what is acceptable, forcing allies to react and acknowledge the asymmetry of power. Trump instills fear from France to Sweden.
Europe’s reaction
Officially, European capitals defended Denmark’s sovereignty.
Behind the diplomatic rhetoric, however, uncertainty is growing.
Danish political scientist Ulrik Pram Gad notes that American pressure “undermines the principle of Greenland’s autonomy, making it an object of negotiation between great powers”.
Other Northern European countries fear direct involvement.
Swedish security expert Vilhelm Aggrell emphasizes that any unilateral American action will increase the militarization of the region and make Northern Europe high risk.
French economist Jacques Sapir stresses that the issue is not Greenland per se, but the precedent: if the US exerts pressure on its allies, Europe’s strategic autonomy will become a fantasy and will be ridiculed as a concept.
Economic dimension: Energy war
The European Union is considering measures ranging from diplomatic pressure to symbolic military presence, but these are mainly psychological.
Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto mocked the idea of sending a “mini formation” to Greenland for its absurdity.
Europe remains energy dependent on the US, especially in LNG.
It has reduced dependence on Russian gas, but has created a new dependence on American LNG, more expensive and a useful lever of US power.
Gas storage facilities in the EU are only 50–60% full, according to the operator OFCE.
This makes Trump capable of exerting pressure even without tariffs, simply by managing LNG flows.
Small route changes can cause disruption of industrial production and political crisis due to a surge in energy costs.
Greenland for Trump is not simply a military or symbolic target. It is a tool to test Europe’s independence, with leverage far stronger than any European military means.
Europe sees in the mirror its own dependence, on the US, on energy, and on the illusions of strategic autonomy.
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