DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) \u2014 French President Emmanuel Macron says the European Union \u201cshould not hesitate\u201d to use the trade bloc\u2019s Anti-Coercion Instrument in face of U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s tariff threats over Greenland.<\/p>\n
Macron, speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alpine town of Davos, pushed back against aggressive U.S. trade pressures and \u201can endless accumulation of new tariffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe anti-coercion mechanism is a powerful instrument and we should not hesitate to deploy it in today\u2019s tough environment,\u201d he said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP\u2019s earlier story follows below.<\/p>\n
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) \u2014 <\/p>\n
The European Union\u2019s top official on Tuesday described U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s planned new tariffs over Greenland<\/a> as \u201ca mistake especially between long-standing allies\u201d and called into question Trump\u2019s trustworthiness, saying that he had agreed last year<\/a> not to impose more tariffs on members of the bloc.<\/p>\n European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was responding to Trump\u2019s announcement that starting February, a 10% import tax will be imposed on goods from eight European nations that have rallied around Denmark<\/a> in the wake of his escalating calls for the United States to take over the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland. <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July,\u201d Von der Leyen said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. \u201cAnd in politics as in business \u2013 a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe consider the people of the United States not just our allies, but our friends. And plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n She vowed that the EU\u2019s response \u201cwill be unflinching, united and proportional.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump has insisted the U.S. needs the territory for security reasons against possible threats from China and Russia.<\/p>\n Earlier Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said America\u2019s relations with Europe remain strong and urged trading partners to \u201ctake a deep breath\u201d and let tensions driven the new tariff threats over Greenland \u201cplay out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think our relations have never been closer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen, speaking in the Danish parliament, said that \u201cthe worst may still be ahead of us.\u201d She said that \u201cwe have never sought conflict. We have consistently sought cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s threats spark diplomatic flurry across Europe<\/p>\n The American leader\u2019s threats have sparked outrage and a flurry of diplomatic activity<\/a> across Europe, as leaders consider possible countermeasures, including retaliatory tariffs and the first-ever use of the European Union\u2019s anti-coercion instrument.<\/p>\n The EU has three major economic tools it could use to pressure Washington: new tariffs, suspension of the U.S.-EU trade deal, and the \u201ctrade bazooka\u201d \u2014 the unofficial term for the bloc\u2019s Anti-Coercion Instrument, which could sanction individuals or institutions found to be putting undue pressure on the EU.<\/p>\n Earlier Tuesday, Trump posted on social media that he had spoken with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. He said \u201cI agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland.\u201d<\/p>\n France\u2019s Macron suggests G-7 meeting in Paris this week<\/p>\n Trump also posted a text message from Emmanuel Macron<\/a> in which the French president suggested a meeting of members of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies in Paris after the Davos gathering. An official close to Macron, who spoke anonymously in line with the French presidency\u2019s customary practices, confirmed the message shared by Trump is genuine. <\/p>\n Later, Trump posted some provocatively doctored images. One showed him planting the U.S. flag next to a sign reading \u201cGreenland, U.S. Territory, Est. 2026.\u201d The other showed Trump in the Oval Office next to a map that showed Greenland and Canada covered with the U.S. Stars and Stripes.<\/p>\n In a sign of how tensions have increased in recent days, thousands of Greenlanders<\/a> marched over the weekend in protest of any effort to take over their island. <\/p>\n In his latest threat of tariffs, Trump indicated that the import taxes would be retaliation for last week\u2019s deployment of symbolic numbers of troops from the European countries<\/a> to Greenland \u2014 though he also suggested that he was using the tariffs as leverage to negotiate with Denmark.<\/p>\n Calls for a stronger Europe against Trump\u2019s threats<\/p>\n Denmark\u2019s minister for European affairs called Trump\u2019s tariff threats \u201cdeeply unfair.\u201d He said that Europe needs to become even stronger and more independent, while stressing there is \u201cno interest in escalating a trade war.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou just have to note that we are on the edge of a new world order, where having power has unfortunately become crucial, and we see a United States with an enormous condescending rhetoric towards Europe,\u201d Marie Bjerre told Danish public broadcaster DK on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Speaking on the sidelines of Davos, California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed Europe\u2019s response to Trump\u2019s tariff threats as \u201cpathetic\u201d and \u201cembarrassing,\u201d and urged European leaders to unite and stand up to the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is time to get serious, and stop being complicit,\u201d Newsom told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s time to stand tall and firm, have a backbone.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday night, Greenland\u2019s European backers looked at establishing a more permanent military presence in the High North to help guarantee security in the Arctic region, a key demand of the United States, Swedish Defense Minister P\u00e5l Jonson said.<\/p>\n Jonson said after talks with his counterparts from Denmark, Greenland and Norway that European members of NATO are currently \u201cdoing what\u2019s called a reconnaissance tour in order to identify what kind of needs there are when it comes to infrastructure and exercises and so forth.\u201d <\/p>\n In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov strongly denied any intention by Russia and China to threaten Greenland, while also describing Greenland as a \u201ccolonial gain\u201d for Denmark. At a news conference, he said that \u201cin principle, Greenland isn\u2019t a natural part of Denmark.\u201d <\/p>\n US-UK tensions over Chagos Islands<\/p>\n In another sign of tension between allies, the British government on Tuesday defended its decision to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands<\/a> to Mauritius after Trump attacked the plan, which his administration previously supported.<\/p>\n