🔥 Heads up: US President Donald Trump rattled some feathers this weekend with a bold social media post announcing plan 🇺🇸 to slap a new 10% tariff on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands & Finland starting Feb 1, jumping to 25% on June 1—unless Greenland is fully sold to the US 🏔️.
Nordic capitals didn’t skip a beat. Danish FM Lars Løkke Rasmussen called the threat surprising and said allies should talk, not threaten. Norway’s PM Jonas Gahr Støre called it unacceptable and pledged support for Denmark’s sovereignty. Finland’s President Alexander Stubb stressed discussions over pressure to keep transatlantic ties strong. Sweden’s PM Ulf Kristersson rejected the tariffs as blackmail.
Major EU leaders backed the squad. France’s President Emmanuel Macron promised a united and coordinated response. UK’s PM Keir Starmer said it’s completely wrong to tax NATO allies and insisted Greenland’s fate belongs to Greenlanders and Danes. Germany is working closely with partners on next steps. EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel warned such tariffs risk a dangerous downward spiral.
Brussels is now talking about activating the EU Anti Coercion Instrument ACI, a tool to shield the bloc from economic pressure. MEPs like Bernd Lange and Manfred Weber say this could derail last year’s EU–US tariff truce.
Cyprus, holding the EU rotating presidency, called an emergency meeting on Sunday to coordinate next steps. Will this escalating tariff drama reshape transatlantic trade? Stay tuned!
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
