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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that while the EU shares concerns with the United States over Arctic security, the bloc’s response will be “unwavering” and “uniform” if President Donald Trump pursues new tariffs based on the dispute over Greenland.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Von der Leyen said a “downward spiral” in US relations with EU allies could only benefit common enemies.
Trump last week announced proposed tariffs on eight countries that have sent small numbers of troops to Greenland, after the US president has repeatedly said he wants to control the vast Danish Arctic island. The Trump administration has talked about buying Greenland, and some White House officials have said military options to seize the island have not been ruled out.
Those statements have continued in the face of sustained opposition and negativity from Greenland and Denmark and their allies, and polls in the US suggest that Trump’s ambitions are not shared by most Americans.
Trump said the 10 percent tariff would take effect on February 1 and rise to 25 percent on June 1.
“In politics, it’s like trade — a deal is a deal and when friends shake hands, it means something,” von der Leyen said, referring to the trade deal the EU and the US struck last summer.
Current18:50Can NATO Survive Trump’s Threats to Greenland?
The most powerful member of a defense alliance is threatening the sovereignty of another. Whether or not the United States invades Greenland, the prospect alone spells crisis for NATO. Three defense experts from Canada, the US and Europe talk about what’s next.
Social media chaos
Trump’s threat has sparked outrage and sparked diplomatic activity across Europe as leaders consider possible countermeasures, including retaliatory tariffs and the EU’s first use of an anti-dumping weapon.
The US president shared several bellicose social media posts on Tuesday morning and said there was “no turning back” on his intention to annex Greenland. One post included an image of Trump’s meeting with European leaders in the Oval Office last year, but on a display that looked like an edited map, Canada and Greenland were represented by the American stars and stripes.
A new media post from Donald J
(TS: 20 January 00:58 and) ‼️‼ pic.twitter.com/l94Se0U7G4
It appears to be another article designed to hurt French President Emmanuel Macron, who clashed with Trump in Greenland and rejected his offer to join a board to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza. Trump shared a screenshot of a private message between the leaders, in which Macron told Trump he didn’t understand what the US president was “doing in Greenland.”
Trump’s responses to Macron were not part of a screenshot he posted on his reality social account early Tuesday.
In another tweet, Trump said he had spoken with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and would meet undisclosed European leaders in Davos this week.
Denmark is ready to talk.
In the year A 1951 treaty between the U.S. and Denmark that gave Washington the right to move freely and build a military base in Greenland as long as Washington did not recognize Denmark and Greenland has caused confusion and consternation in the second Trump administration’s hostile statements.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen reiterated on Monday that the government was open to discussing those issues as “practical, cold-blooded Scandinavians”. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Denmark supported the United States in NATO, deploying troops to Afghanistan.
Carney said Canada’s former chief of defense was facing a do-or-die NATO challenge as he weighed sending troops to Greenland in defiance of Trump’s threats and the prime minister was ‘walking a tightrope’ with the decision.
But Trump and several members of his administration have raised Denmark’s centuries-old territorial claim.
The island is strategically located between Europe and North America, making it a key location for the US ballistic missile defense system for decades. Its mineral wealth also aligns with Washington’s desire to reduce its dependence on China.
The US military maintains a permanent presence at the Pitufik Space Station (formerly Thule Air Base) in northwest Greenland. As Greenland is the world’s largest island with a population of only 57,000 people, Denmark’s membership is not an independent NATO member covered by Western membership.
In her speech, Von der Leyen said that Europe should increase its independence. She explained. A seismic shift in international relations, including improving security ties with allies including Canada, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom.
At a news conference in Moscow, Sergey Lavrov said that Russia has no intention of interfering in the Greenland issue, and Washington knows that Moscow itself has no plans to take control of the island. But Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that Greenland is not a “natural part” of Denmark.
The U.S. dollar fell for a second day on Tuesday as stocks slipped and Trump stepped up his push.
Fears that Trump will impose more tariffs on European countries have renewed talk of a “Selling America” trade that took place the day after the “Independence Day” tariffs, when investors sold U.S. stocks, the dollar and Treasuries.
“Despite the worsening of this episode, many will question the credibility of any deal with Trump and doubts about tariffs will rise,” said Henry Cook, European economist at MUFG.
Other countries at risk from Trump’s new tariffs are Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.