Washington DC and Nuuk, Greenland
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President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States would impose new tariffs on several European countries unless a deal is reached to buy Greenland, escalating long-standing demands for U.S. control over the Arctic territory controlled by Denmark.
President Trump announced a 10% tariff on “all goods” from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland starting February 1st, increasing to 25% on June 1st until a deal is reached.
“For years, we have subsidized Denmark, all European Union countries, and other countries by not charging them tariffs or any other form of compensation,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Now, after many centuries, it’s time for Denmark to return the favor. World peace is at stake!”
President Trump did not say what tariffs he plans to impose on European countries or whether the 10% tariffs would be on top of those already paid. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
European leaders, including Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen, expressed concern about the president’s tariff threat, calling it a “surprise” after “constructive talks” with Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this week.
President Trump warned in a social media post that sending troops to Greenland by European countries would create “an extremely dangerous situation for the safety, security and survival of our planet.”
While it is not necessarily unusual for NATO countries to send military assets to exercises in Greenland, the timing marks a significant show of support for Denmark and highlights tensions within the Atlantic alliance.
“We agree with the United States that further steps need to be taken because the Arctic is no longer a low-tension region,” Rasmussen said in a statement. “That’s exactly why we and our NATO allies are working to increase full transparency with our allies.”
In his post, Trump added that the United States has sought to acquire Greenland for more than 150 years, arguing that modern weapons systems and missile defense projects, including the Golden Dome, make control of the territory particularly important.
His repeated comments have strained diplomatic relations between the United States and Denmark, which owns the territory but gives local people the right to self-determination, and have also drawn criticism from NATO’s European allies.
The tariffs threatened by President Trump are likely to be imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The law, which the president has cited in previous executive orders, outlines surcharges used to bend countries to his will.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule in the coming weeks on whether President Trump can use emergency powers granted by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs. The justices appeared skeptical of the Trump administration’s application of the law, as it did not mention tariffs.
If President Trump is unable to use emergency powers to impose tariffs, there are other laws available, but they tend to be limited in scope and duration. That could limit the usefulness of tariffs as a tool to pressure other countries to give Trump what he wants, such as Greenland.
Countries threatened by President Trump already have tariffs of at least 10%. It is unclear whether the new tariffs will replace existing agreements with the UK and the European Union. The agreements, reached last year, include a number of exceptions to U.S. import fees.
European leaders were quick to criticize Trump’s threat, with French President Emmanuel Macron branding it “unacceptable” and saying Europe would respond in a coordinated manner if it was confirmed.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed these sentiments, saying in a statement: “It is completely wrong to impose tariffs on our NATO allies in the pursuit of their collective security.”
Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gare Stoer said threats would not be tolerated between the allies, and Finland’s President Alexander Stubbe said problems between the allies were best resolved through talks rather than pressure.
European Council President Antonio Costa said he was coordinating a joint response by European Union member states.
Prime Minister Costa, speaking from Paraguay after the EU and South America’s Mercosur bloc signed a free trade agreement, called for an expansion of the area of economic integration in lieu of higher tariffs. “If we want to prosper, we have to open up our markets, not close them down,” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also opposed the threatened tariffs, saying they would damage transatlantic relations and “risk a dangerous downward spiral.”
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Karas, said Russia and China stood to benefit from the division between the Western allies. “China and Russia must be in a tizzy,” he said, adding that the tariffs put the prosperity of both the US and the EU at risk.
The European Union has convened an emergency meeting of ambassadors from 27 EU member states to discuss President Trump’s threats against Greenland, an EU diplomat with direct knowledge of the matter told CNN on Saturday. It is scheduled to be held in Brussels on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, demonstrators took to the streets in Greenland and Denmark to protest President Trump’s threat to seize the Arctic island, demanding that their people be allowed to decide their own future.
In Denmark, thousands of people gathered in the cities of Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense to demonstrate solidarity with the people of Greenland.
Protests then began in Greenland’s capital Nuuk. Just before 2pm local time, the crowd was estimated at 5,000 people, a large portion of the island’s population of 56,000. People waved banners saying “Yankees go home” and “Greenland is already great.”
“We are demonstrating against America’s statement and ambition to annex Greenland,” said Camila Seesing, president of the United Inuit Association, one of the Greenlandic organizations involved in planning the protest. “We demand respect for the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland’s right to self-determination. Hopefully we can show that we are among the many who support Greenland.”
Protesters were similarly defiant in Greenland on Saturday. “We are not for sale,” a female protester in Nuuk, who declined to give her name, told CNN when asked for her message to the US president.
Another protester named Patricia said, “We’ve seen what[Trump]is doing in Venezuela and Iran. He doesn’t respect anything. He just takes what he thinks is his own. … He’s abusing his power.”
“This kind of invasion is unacceptable,” one male protester, who declined to be named, said, referring to President Trump’s threats against Greenland.
As the situation worsened, a bipartisan U.S. delegation of lawmakers traveled to Copenhagen to meet with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland.
At a press conference on Saturday, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, who heads the delegation, said the Trump administration’s “tempo of rhetoric” about the potential purchase of Greenland was not constructive.
Koons also expressed his respect for Greenland’s indigenous peoples, telling reporters that Greenland is a “remote and inhospitable place, and that Greenlanders have managed to navigate a very difficult environment, culture and way of life that deserves deep respect.”
The U.S. lawmaker sought to highlight the U.S.-Denmark partnership, including in the military, and said a delegation would visit the cemetery later Saturday to lay wreaths for Danish soldiers who died alongside U.S. forces in conflicts such as the Afghanistan war.
Even some members of the Republican Party have expressed opposition to President Trump’s Greenland plan.
Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska told CNN that President Trump’s threats against other NATO countries are “disgraceful.”
“The fact that Greenland is part of NATO gives the president everything he needs to put more bases there.”
This push faces strong headwinds for the American public as well. According to a recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS, three-quarters of Americans say they oppose the United States’ efforts to take control of Greenland.
CNN’s Jake Tapper, Kit Maher, David Goldman, Ivana Kottasova, James Frater, Benjamin Brown and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
