President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One at the White House on January 16, 2026 in Washington, U.S.
Tom Brenner | Getty Images
If economic sanctions are aimed at pressure without firing a shot, US President Donald Trump is aimed directly at America’s closest military allies.
Trump said on Saturday that the US would do so A 10% customs duty was imposed on imports from eight NATO countries — Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Finland — from February 1.
Trump said tariffs on those countries would rise to 25% on June 1 “until an agreement is reached on the full and complete purchase of Greenland.”
European leaders have moved quick condemnation of the movementcalled it “unacceptable”. EU officials are weighing retaliatory tariffs on 93 billion euros ($108 billion) of U.S. goods after Sunday’s meeting and a broader agreement to persuade Trump. Reuters reported.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will address the tariffs on Greenland in a speech on Monday evening London time.
Apart from the immediate political fallout, the move risks derailing the EU-U.S trade agreement reached in August and threatens the possibility of retaliation from Europe.
Tariffs on European countries “could represent a significant pushback from the EU, where the EU could respond in kind, potentially triggering a kind of trade war with the US,” said Dan Alamariou, chief geopolitical strategist at Alpine Macro. said CNBC In an email before Trump announced the final tariffs.
So far, markets have largely taken geopolitical tensions in stride. Eric Friedman, chief investment officer at Chicago-based Northern Trust Wealth Management, said last week that equity markets are up for the year as disputes over Greenland, Iran or Venezuela have yet to involve major economies or military partners.
This report is subject to change. By drawing European allies into the fray, the tariffs raise the risk of greater market volatility. Major U.S. indexes were in the red for a week ahead of Trump’s tariffs on Greenland, reflecting growing concern among investors.
All this is due to the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos today, January 19. World leaders have been gathering for talks on trade, security and geopolitical tensions with Trump now facing leaders from several countries over his line on tariffs.
We’re only four weeks into the year, and the fault lines are already being built. What comes from the snowy peaks, like an avalanche, has a disproportionate effect on those below.
— CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt, Chloe Taylor and Li Ying Shan contributed to this report.
What you need to know today
China’s economic growth will slow down. Growth in the fourth quarter was 4.5%, the weakest pace in nearly three years. However, it is an economical product the whole year 2025 was 5%Achieving Beijing’s goalabout 5%.“
Supreme Court strike on tariffs ‘highly unlikely’: Bessent. “I don’t think the Supreme Court wants to create chaos,” Bessent said Sunday NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Bessent on the Greenland tariffs their a emergency response.
A US-Taiwan deal is unlikely to change the balance. According to experts, chip production has expanded in the US does not decrease significantly Washington’s dependence on Taiwanese production until the end of the decade.
Major US indices were mostly flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Averagehowever, fell by 0.17% on Friday. The Asia-Pacific market was lower on Monday. from Hong Kong Hang Seng Index Mainland China fell 1% on the release of economic data, but South Korea’s Kospi broke the upward trend.
(PRO) Best performing hedge funds in 2025. The annual ranking of hedge funds showed the industry had the biggest dollar gains last year. managed by A The Mutual Fund has given investors $18.9 billion in 2025.
And finally…
Global week ahead: Davos hopes cooler heads will prevail
Over the years, I’ve seen many versions of Davos: the fallout from the Great Financial Crisis and the European debt crisis; a trade scandal rocked the French banking giant Societe Generale; The spread of the Covid-19 epidemic and the disruption of world order that has now occurred since the end of World War II.
Everyone has their own opinion about this meeting, but one fact is that it is never boring. And 2026 will definitely not be different. The tension between the countries that call themselves allies is clearly visible in this meeting.
– Leonie Kidd