Trump said the United States would impose increasing tariffs on eight European nations rejecting a U.S. purchase of Greenland starting Feb. 1.
The European Union called an emergency meeting of ambassadors from the bloc’s 27 nations on Jan. 18 to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to impose a series of increasing tariffs on some European allies that oppose the United States’ efforts to acquire Greenland.
The holder of the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, Cyprus, announced late on Jan. 17 that it had planned the meeting for the next day, which is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. local time.
Trump said on Jan. 16 that he was considering a wave of tariffs on European allies “if they don’t go along” with allowing the United States to purchase the Danish territory of Greenland. U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt at the White House on Jan. 14.
Trump has said the United States needs Greenland for national security purposes and warned that “world peace is at stake” if the United States does not succeed in obtaining Greenland.
“This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Jan. 17. He has said if the United States doesn’t gain control of Greenland, China or Russia will take it.
The U.S. president followed through with the tariff threat on Jan. 17, writing on social media that he would impose a 10 percent tariff on eight European nations that oppose his efforts to take over Greenland.
“This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” Trump wrote. The tariff will affect Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland starting on Feb. 1.
Trump said his tariff will increase to 25 percent on June 1, citing attempts by the United States “do this transaction” of buying Greenland dating back to “over 150 years.” U.S. President Andrew Johnson’s administration first floated the idea in the 1860s to expand American influence in the Arctic.
By Jacob Burg
