People bear Greenlandic flags as they gather in front of the U.S. consulate protest against U.S. President Donald Trump and his announced intent to acquire Greenland on January 17, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images
European leaders have hit back at U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose fresh tariffs on them if they oppose his attempt to buy Greenland, describing the ultimatum as “completely wrong” and “unacceptable.”
Trump announced on Saturday that eight European allies would face increasing tariffs, starting at 10% on Feb.1 and rising to 25% on June 1, if a deal is not reached so Washington can “buy” the Arctic territory, which is semi-autonomous and part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Eight NATO members’ goods sent to the U.S. will face escalating tariffs “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” Trump stated on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday.
The proposed tariffs would target Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K, the Netherlands and Finland, Trump said.
European leaders were quick to react to the latest threat with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer commenting Saturday that “applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is completely wrong,” while French President Emmanuel Macron described them as “unacceptable.”
“Europeans will respond in a united and coordinated manner should they be confirmed. We will ensure that European sovereignty is upheld,” Macron stated on social media platform X on Saturday.
Reuters quoted a source close to Macron as saying he was pushing for the activation of the Anti-Coercion Instrument, which could limit access to public tenders in the EU or restrict trade in services in which the U.S. has a surplus with the bloc.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Antonio Costa issued a statement Saturday in which they said the EU “stands in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland.”
It added that it was committed to further dialogue following talks between Denmark, Greenland and top U.S. officials last week, which ended without a diplomatic breakthrough.
Nonetheless, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Trump’s tariffs threat had come “as a surprise” following the “constructive meeting” with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The European Union has called an emergency meeting which will take place at 16:00 p.m. London time on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who, like British PM Keir Starmer is known to have a good relationship with Donald Trump, called for cool heads and further talks.
He warned further tariffs — which would come on top of the 15% tariff on EU exports to the U.S., and the 10% levied on U.K. exports — would be damaging, however.
“Among allies, issues are best resolved through discussion, not through pressure,” he said on X.
“European countries stand united. We emphasize the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty. We support Denmark and Greenland. Dialogue with the United States continues. Tariffs would undermine the transatlantic relationship and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”
‘A moderately significant economic problem’
Trump’s demands now threaten the EU-U.S. trade agreement struck in August.
Manfred Weber, a senior member of the European Parliament (MEP), said the EU trade deal with the U.S. is “not possible at this stage.”
Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank said: “Trump wants to force Denmark and its European backers to sell Greenland to the U.S. by imposing tariffs. For Europe, this is a bad geopolitical headache and a moderately significant economic problem.”
He estimated that an additional 10% levy on goods from affected countries could raise U.S. consumer prices by up to 0.15%. But “in the unlikely case” that the EU-U.S. trade deal is not implemented, “the damage to US consumers could then be almost three times as bad in the end,” Schmieding told CNBC in a note.
Denmark and its European neighbors have made repeated efforts to dissuade Trump from looking to acquire Greenland, particularly after the president said earlier this month that he would consider all options to obtain the mineral-rich island, including using military force.
Trump says acquiring Greenland is critical for U.S. national security. He has also said that U.S. ownership would prevent Russia and China from gaining a foothold in the territory. Beijing and Moscow have lambasted Trump’s claims and his coveting of Greenland, calling them a “pretext …for selfish gains” and “extraordinary.”
Young people with placards reading “Greenland is not for sale!” take part in a demonstration that gathered almost a third of the city population to protest against the US President’s plans to take Greenland, on January 17, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland, near the US Consulate to Greenland.
Alessandro Rampazzo | Afp | Getty Images
Greenland itself has repeatedly rejected Trump’s advances and while a majority of its population would like independence from Denmark, according to opinion polls, most Greenlanders would not like to become a part of the U.S., either.
Protests were held in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, on Saturday, with demonstrators holding placards reiterating the position of the island’s leadership, and that of Denmark, that “Greenland is not for sale.”
— Spriha Srivastava contributed to this report.
