 "US President Donald Trump Donald Trump has threatened eight European countries – Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Great Britain, France and Germany and the Netherlands – with a 10 per cent tariff on all goods coming into the United States from February 1 until he is able to buy Greenland. File image/Reuters")
US President Donald Trump has stepped up his campaign for greater American influence over Greenland , issuing a pointed warning to Denmark after a group of European nations jointly rebuffed his latest threats .
The dispute has intensified diplomatic tensions between Washington and key allies in Europe.
Posting on his social platform Truth Social, Trump argued that the United States has long been concerned about security in the Arctic and accused Denmark of failing to act on warnings from Nato.
“NATO has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that ‘you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland .’ Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it,” he wrote. Trump then added, “Now it is time, and it will be done!!!”
His comments came after a joint statement from eight European countries—Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland—pushed back against his escalating rhetoric and threats of trade penalties.
European allies reject tariff threats
The joint European statement reflected concerns that Trump’s approach, including his suggestion of tariffs against countries that oppose American aims around Greenland, risked damaging relations with the United States.
“Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” the statement said, while also reaffirming a willingness to engage in dialogue based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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View AllSeveral of the targeted nations are longstanding US allies and already face existing tariffs on a range of goods exported to the United States. European leaders have stressed that cooperation on Arctic security should proceed through established multinational frameworks like Nato, not through coercive economic threats.
Military presence and rising tensions
As the dispute has escalated, the group of European nations also deployed small numbers of military personnel to Greenland in cooperation with Denmark, a move they say is aimed at strengthening security in the strategically important Arctic region, not challenging US interests there.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen welcomed the unified response from European capitals. In a written message reported by Reuters, she said she was encouraged by consistent displays of support and asserted that “Europe will not be blackmailed.”
Longstanding dispute over Greenland
Trump has repeatedly said Greenland, with its vast territory and resources, is vital to US national security, and that European efforts have been insufficient amid what he claims are growing Russian and Chinese interests in the region. He first floated the idea of the United States acquiring Greenland in 2019, describing it then as “a large real estate deal” that could benefit Denmark’s finances, a proposal Copenhagen rejected.
Also read | How Trump has a strategy in his madness for Greenland
Even some of Trump’s supporters in Europe have distanced themselves from his latest tactics. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the tariff threats “a mistake,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said political intimidation “will not succeed … whether in Ukraine, Greenland or anywhere else in the world” when faced with such situations.