US President Donald Trump has announced punitive tariffs against Germany and other European countries due to the dispute over Greenland. As long as the US is unable to purchase the island, which belongs to Denmark, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland will have to pay additional tariffs of 10 percent on all imports to the US starting February 1, Trump announced on Saturday. From June 1, these tariffs would be increased to 25 percent.
Trump accused the eight countries involved in the Greenland dispute of playing “a very dangerous game.” He said it was therefore “essential to take decisive measures to protect global peace and global security.” At the same time, the U.S. president stressed that he was “immediately open” to negotiations with Denmark and the other countries concerned.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he was “surprised” by the U.S. special tariffs, while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called them “completely wrong” and French President Emmanuel Macron described them as “unacceptable.” “We will not be intimidated,” Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told AFP.
The German government responded more cautiously. It had “taken note” of Trump’s announcement, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said. Germany was now “in the closest coordination with European partners,” who would decide “at the appropriate time” on possible responses.
“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” warned European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa. “Europe will remain united, coordinated and determined to protect its sovereignty,” their joint statement read. An emergency meeting of EU ambassadors was scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Brussels.
Manfred Weber, head of the conservative EPP group in the European Parliament, said Trump’s threats called last year’s EU-U.S. trade agreement into question. “The zero-percent tariffs on U.S. products must be suspended,” he posted on X in English. Following the reaction of European partners, Greenland’s Minister for Mineral Resources, Naaja Nathanielsen, wrote on LinkedIn that she was “grateful and hopeful that diplomacy and partnership will prevail.”
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. In recent weeks, Trump repeatedly asserted a claim to Greenland, citing U.S. national security interests in the Arctic. He often spoke of purchasing the Arctic island, but did not rule out military force. As Denmark and the United States are both NATO members, the dispute over Greenland threatens to strain the alliance.
Against the backdrop of Trump’s threats, an exploratory mission of several NATO countries began in Greenland on Thursday at Denmark’s invitation. The German Bundeswehr is participating with 15 soldiers in the “Arctic Endurance” mission. Several experts interpreted the operation as “a strategic signal” to the United States.
In Greenland and Denmark, thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday to protest Trump’s threats. In Greenland’s capital Nuuk, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen joined the demonstration. Many people waved Greenlandic flags and chanted slogans against the United States.
Thousands also gathered in front of Copenhagen’s city hall, waving Danish and Greenlandic flags. Protesters repeatedly shouted “Kalaallit Nunaat!”, the Greenlandic name for Greenland, and “Greenland is not for sale.” Other Danish cities saw demonstrations under slogans such as “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders” and “Hands off Greenland.”
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