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<\/p>\nTrump\u2019s threat to impose tariffs took Denmark by surprise, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the foreign minister, has admitted. He rejected Trump\u2019s suggestion that a small joint exercise with European allies was intended to provoke America.<\/p>\n
Rasmussen, who met JD Vance, the vice-president, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, for talks in Washington on Wednesday, said in a statement: \u201cThe president\u2019s announcement comes as a surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe purpose of the increased military presence in Greenland, to which the president refers, is precisely to increase security in the Arctic. We are in close contact with the EU Commission and our other partners on the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Wednesday\u2019s meeting, the Danes and Americans had agreed to set up a working group to \u201caddress America\u2019s security concerns\u201d while respecting Denmark\u2019s \u201cred lines\u201d on its sovereignty.<\/p>\n
Starmer: Tariff threat \u2018completely wrong\u2019<\/p>\n
Sir Keir Starmer has said the threat of tariffs was \u201ccompletely wrong\u201d and he would be raising the matter directly with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Saturday evening, the prime minister said: \u201cOur position on Greenland is very clear: it is part of the kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have also made clear that Arctic security matters for the whole of Nato and allies should all do more together to address the threat from Russia across different parts of the Arctic.<\/p>\n
\u201cApplying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of Nato allies is completely wrong. We will of course be pursuing this directly with the US administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
How much would it cost to buy Greenland?<\/p>\n
Although Denmark has repeatedly refused to entertain the notion, some estimates suggest the US could have to pay as much as $700 billion to purchase the territory.<\/p>\n
A recent cost estimate was developed by academics and former US officials as part of a planning exercise by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
To put the figure in context, the total defence budget this year is about $960 billion.<\/p>\n
America has tried to buy Greenland several times, including in 1946 when James Byrnes, secretary of state under President Truman, offered Denmark $100 million.<\/p>\n
Analysis: Europe cannot do nothing<\/p>\n
European leaders know it would set a hugely dangerous precedent if they sat back and allowed Trump to dismember a country that is both a Nato ally and a member of the European Union (Peter Conradi writes).<\/p>\n
Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, warned earlier this month that an American attack on Greenland would spell the end of the North Atlantic alliance.<\/p>\n
Thomas Bernt, a commentator for Berlingske, a leading Danish newspaper, called Trump\u2019s move a \u201ccompletely unprecedented and dramatic escalation of the crisis over Greenland\u201d and said the EU must respond firmly.<\/p>\n
\u2018We stand by sending troops to Greenland\u2019<\/p>\n
European soldiers attend a briefing during a military exercise in Nuuk, Greenland, on Friday<\/p>\n
DANISH DEFENCE\/REUTERS<\/p>\n
Macron defended the decision by eight countries, including France and the UK, to send a small number of military personnel on a reconnaissance mission to Greenland.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe stand by this decision. Especially because it concerns security in the Arctic and at the frontiers of our Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macron: Trump threat \u2018unacceptable\u2019<\/p>\n
President Macron has called Trump\u2019s tariff threats \u201cunacceptable\u201d and said he stands by the decision to participate in joint military exercises in Greenland.<\/p>\n
He said on social media that his country was \u201ccommitted to the sovereignty and independence of nations, in Europe as elsewhere. This guides our choices. It underpins our attachment to the United Nations and to our charter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macron compared Trump\u2019s aim to control of Greenland to Russia\u2019s attempt to seize Ukraine.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cNo intimidation or threat will influence us, neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
European countries will respond in a \u201cunited and co-ordinated manner\u201d he said. \u201cIt is in this spirit that I will speak with our European partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
We must match Trump\u2019s tariffs, says Verhofstadt<\/p>\n
Guy Verhofstadt, the former Belgian prime minister, has called for reciprocal tariffs on the United States.<\/p>\n
He said the European Union must match Trump by imposing an equivalent 10 per cent levy on all American imports, rising to 25 per cent \u201cif the American tariffs stay in place\u201d.<\/p>\n
The senior MEP also demanded the EU \u201cbreak up American internet monopolies\u201d, and establish a European defence union with a joint army to balance American power.<\/p>\n
In a separate tweet, he called on Sir Tony Blair to reject his appointment to the Gaza board of peace, which will be led by Donald Trump. <\/p>\n
Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once\u2018Servile\u2019 Europe faces another test: M\u00e9lenchon<\/p>\n Jean-Luc M\u00e9lenchon, leader of the radical left France Unbowed party, said Europe was paying the price for its failure to stand up to President Trump when he imposed tariffs on America\u2019s trade partners last year.<\/p>\n He also accused Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, of caving in to pressure from the US.<\/p>\n He said on X: \u201cEurope is undergoing another test from Trump. Von der Leyen already gave in this summer. Servility always leads to more provocation and submission.\u201d<\/p>\n We will not be blackmailed, says Swedish PM<\/p>\n Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, has said he is in \u201cintensive discussions\u201d with the UK and Norway over a co-ordinated response to the threatened tariffs.<\/p>\n He said on social media that his country would not be \u201cblackmailed\u201d by Trump over the sovereignty of Greenland.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cOnly Denmark and Greenland decide on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland. I will always stand up for my country, and for our allied neighbors. This is an EU issue that affects many more countries than those now being singled out.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not let ourselves be blackmailed.\u201d<\/p>\n Legality of tariffs uncertain<\/p>\n Whether President Trump can legally impose these higher tariffs is far from certain. He is awaiting a Supreme Court decision on whether his sweeping use of the power to date complies with federal law.<\/p>\n The tariffs are being challenged by a number of small businesses and a group of US states. They argue the president exceeded his authority in imposing the levies over the past year.<\/p>\n Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which grants presidents additional economic powers in times of war or national emergency.<\/p>\n If the court rules against the administration, the United States could have to refund some of the billions of dollars it has already collected.<\/p>\n Trump said on Monday the refunds would be \u201calmost impossible for our country to pay\u201d.<\/p>\n EU chief: we will defend international law<\/p>\n Ant\u00f3nio Costa, president of the European Council, said the EU would always defend international law in the face of President Trump\u2019s threatened additional tariffs.<\/p>\n He said he was coordinating an EU-wide response.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we can say is that the European Union will always be very firm in defending international law, wherever it may be, which of course begins within the territory of the member states of the European Union,\u201d he said at a press conference on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cFor now, I am co-ordinating a joint response from the member states of the European Union on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Violation of trade agreements\u2019<\/p>\n A former prime minister of Sweden has said the EU should react with strength to the latest tariff threats.<\/p>\n Carl Bildt, now chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank, said it was \u201ca crystal clear violation\u201d of trade agreements between the EU and the US and between the UK and the US. <\/p>\n He said: \u201cIf this goes into force the EU reaction must be as clear. To play soft is hardly an option.\u201d<\/p>\n Analysis: Speed of move caught Europe off guard<\/p>\n When Britain and other European leaders decided to send a token military force to Greenland this week to help defend the Arctic island, they appeared to think it would appease Donald Trump (Peter Conradi, Europe Editor, writes).<\/p>\n Instead, it seems to have had the opposite effect of antagonising the American president and spurring him into imposing tariffs on them. They had, he claimed, \u201cjourneyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown\u201d.<\/p>\n European leaders were caught off guard by the speed of Trump\u2019s move. Overnight, a vague threat from the president on Friday had turned into firm American policy, posing a dilemma for Sir Keir Starmer, and the leaders of Denmark and the other six European countries that sent their forces to Greenland.<\/p>\n An hour after Trump dropped his bombshell, none had yet reacted.<\/p>\n Farage: These tariffs will hurt us<\/p>\n Nigel Farage has said he does not agree with Trump\u2019s proposed tariffs and equated the security position of Greenland to the Diego Garcia military base on the Chagos Islands.<\/p>\n The Reform UK leader said: \u201cWe don\u2019t always agree with the US government and in this case we certainly don\u2019t. These tariffs will hurt us.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIf Greenland is vulnerable to malign influences, then have another look at Diego Garcia.\u201d<\/p>\n In May 2025, the British government agreed to give sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a key military base on the island of Diego Garcia for \u00a3101 million a year. The base has long been seen as a deterrent to China\u2019s growing influence in the region.<\/p>\n Less incentive to buy from Britain<\/p>\n Trump first floated the notion of tariffs during an event at the White House on Friday<\/a>. He said: \u201cI may put a tariff on countries if they don\u2019t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security.\u201d<\/p>\n Tariffs are taxes on imported goods, which are paid to the government by companies bringing in foreign products.<\/p>\n Firms can choose to pass some or all of the extra cost onto their customers, meaning higher prices for ordinary Americans and less incentive to buy goods from Britain.<\/p>\n The US is the UK\u2019s largest trading partner. In 2024 Britain exported almost \u00a360 billion of goods to the US.<\/p>\n Why is Trump so interested in Greenland? <\/p>\n The territory\u2019s natural resources and position in the Arctic Circle have put it firmly in the US president\u2019s sights. <\/p>\n Greenland is rich in largely untapped mineral and hydrocarbon resources:<\/p>\n And its position in the Arctic is gaining strategic significance as ice caps melt, potentially opening up new shipping routes.<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: <\/b>Why does Trump want Greenland?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Starmer must stand firm against bully Trump, says Davey<\/p>\n Ed Davey said the recent tariff threat meant the government\u2019s policy towards the US \u201clies in tatters\u201d.<\/p>\n In a post on social media, the Liberal Democrat leader said: \u201cTrump is now punishing the UK and Nato allies just for doing the right thing.<\/p>\n \u201cTime for the PM to stand firm against the bully in the White House, and work with European and Commonwealth allies to make him back down from this reckless plan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Greenland not for sale\u2019<\/p>\n Demonstrators marched to the US embassy in the Danish capital on Saturday as protesters also gathered in Nuuk, Greenland.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are demonstrating against American ambitions to annex Greenland,\u201d said Camilla Siezing, chair of Inuit, the Joint Association of Greenlandic Local Associations in Denmark.<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: <\/b>\u2018Greenland not for sale\u2019: protests in Denmark against Trump takeover<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Denmark visit failed to defuse tensions<\/p>\n The fresh threats of tariffs come despite a visit from US members of congress to Denmark yesterday.<\/p>\n The bipartisan group met Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, and Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the prime minister of Greenland, in an effort to defuse tensions over Greenland<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chris Coons, a Democratic senator, led the group and pledged to \u201clower the temperature and have a more constructive dialogue about the best path forward\u201d.<\/p>\n During the visit, Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator from Alaska, said the \u201cvast majority\u201d of Americans didn\u2019t think that acquiring Greenland was a good idea.<\/p>\n Trump posted a picture of himself on his Truth Social platform last night, titled \u201cThe Tariff King\u201d. <\/p>\n Trump has been insisting for months that the US should control Greenland. He said this week that anything less than territory being in US hands would be \u201cunacceptable\u201d.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/\/f0ae815d-349a-48de-bab6-2085c229a14d.jpg\")
President has eyed Greenland for months<\/p>\n
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