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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Jan26/03) Geneva, 19 Jan (D. Ravi Kanth) — United States President Donald Trump on 17 January threatened to impose a 10% tariff on Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom beginning next month unless they concurred with his plan to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. In a Truth Social post issued on 17 January, President Trump further announced a tariff of 25% starting on 1 June should the abovementioned European countries continue with what he called hostile policies opposing Washington’s proposed acquisition of Greenland. Meanwhile, in a seemingly tit-for-tat response to President Trump’s threat of tariffs on account of European defiance, French President Emmanuel Macron apparently requested his EU counterparts to activate the EU’s so-called anti-coercion instrument, which could restrict access to the single market for American companies in areas such as digital services among others. President Macron said that he “will be in contact throughout the day with his European counterparts and will request, on France’s behalf, the activation of the anti-coercion instrument (commonly referred to as the Bazooka),” according to a report in the Financial Times on 18 January. It remains to be seen whether the EU ambassadors, who were expected to meet in Brussels on 18 January, will activate the EU’s anti-coercion instrument that was conceived in 2023 to respond to countries accused of economic coercion. According to media reports, the EU was also considering a retaliatory package of tariffs worth 93 billion euros on American goods, which was drawn up in response to President Trump’s previous economic threats but was suspended after the two sides struck a trade deal last summer. The proposed measures would impose duties on US automobiles, industrial goods, and food and drink. The ambassadors of the EU’s 27 member states were meeting in an emergency session on 18 January after President Trump threatened tariffs on the six EU nations plus the UK and Norway. In a joint statement, these countries said that their Danish-led military exercise, called “Arctic Endurance”, was a commitment to strengthening security “as a shared transatlantic interest” and “poses no threat to anyone”. TRUMP’S JUSTIFICATION Justifying his actions in a lengthy post on Truth Social on 17 January, President Trump claimed that the US had “subsidized Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them Tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration.” “Now, after Centuries”- though the United States was founded only about 250 years ago – he warned that “it is time for Denmark to give back – World Peace is at stake!” Making some outlandish claims that “China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it,” President Trump said that Denmark currently has “two dogsleds as protection, one added recently.” Asserting that “only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!”, he told the European countries: “Nobody will touch this sacred piece of Land, especially since the National Security of the United States, and the World at large, is at stake.” Expanding what analysts see as an “imperialist” move to secure Greenland’s oil and critical rare earth resources, President Trump disparaged the fact that “Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland have journeyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown.” He warned these countries that “this is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet,” adding that “these Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable.” “Therefore,” he said, “it is imperative that, in order to protect Global Peace and Security, strong measures be taken so that this potentially perilous situation end quickly, and without question.” “Starting on February 1st, 2026,” he declared, “all of the above-mentioned Countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland) will be charged a 10% Tariff on any and all goods sent to the United States of America.” President Trump gave the European countries until 1 June 2026 to resolve the issue, after which the tariff will be increased to 25% and remain until the Greenland matter is settled. “On June 1st, 2026,” President Trump stated, “the Tariff will be increased to 25%. This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.” “The United States,” he claimed, “has been trying to do this transaction for over 150 years,” saying that “many Presidents have tried, and for good reason, but Denmark has always refused.” Taking his proposal further, President Trump threatened, “Now, because of The Golden Dome, and Modern Day Weapons Systems, both Offensive and Defensive, the need to ACQUIRE is especially important.” Announcing that “hundreds of Billions of Dollars are currently being spent on Security Programs having to do with “The Dome”, including for the possible protection of Canada,” he said, “this very brilliant, but highly complex system can only work at its maximum potential and efficiency, because of angles, metes, and bounds, if this Land is included in it.” Potentially offering an olive branch, President Trump said, “the United States of America is immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these Countries that have put so much at risk, despite all that we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades.” EUROPEAN RESPONSE According to statements from officials, EU member states were expected to hold an urgent meeting on 18 January to strategize. An analyst formerly with UN organizations said this will be a litmus test of whether the EU stands firm against the US tariffs or weakens its position further. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen cautioned that the tariffs proposed by President Trump “would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” according to media reports. The analyst noted that with Denmark and other EU member states having deployed troops, it remains to be seen how they would respond to any military action by Washington. “No 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,” French President Macron said on X (formerly Twitter). “Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context.” Amid large protests in Denmark and Greenland against President Trump’s threat to annex Greenland, public sentiment in several European capitals appears increasingly hostile. “Our future is decided by us,” Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told demonstrators in Nuuk. According to a Financial Times report, the leader of the European People’s Party, the largest political group in the EU, said Brussels should refuse to ratify the trade agreement concluded with the US last year. That agreement would reduce EU tariffs on American goods to zero while the US applies a 15% tariff on EU- originating goods. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a rather ambivalent statement: “Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing collective security of NATO allies is completely wrong. We will of course be pursuing this directly with the US administration.” Analysts noted that the seemingly bellicose actions – including abducting the President of Venezuela and annexing its oil reserves – not only recall longstanding US interventionism since the Spanish-American war in 1898 involving the US and Cuba and subsequent annexations of countries such as the Philippines in the Pacific, but also coincide with growing internal opposition to the Trump administration. +
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