{"id":252432,"date":"2026-01-19T11:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/252432\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T11:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:35:08","slug":"ireland-urges-measured-eu-response-to-trumps-tariffs-threat-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/252432\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland urges \u2018measured\u2019 EU response to Trump\u2019s tariffs threat \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Main pointsTrump accounced on Saturday he would impose tariffs on eight European countries<\/a> from the beginning of February until a deal is reached on the purchase of GreenlandThe European Commission is considering a package of counter tariffs<\/a>EU<\/a> leaders will convene an emergency summit this week to consider how to push back against TrumpKey Reads<\/p>\n

Jack White – 20 minutes ago<\/p>\n

A lot will turn on what happens inside the room when the leaders of the European Union\u2019s 27 states meet in Brussels on Thursday for an emergency summit, Europe Correspondent Jack Power writes. <\/p>\n

The Irish Government, who have been one of the loudest voices for EU restraint in the face of threats from Trump during his second term, might find the argument against retaliation does not land as it did during EU-US tariff negotiations last year. Dialogue doesn\u2019t really work if one side shows no interest of talking. <\/p>\n

Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin will have to walk a fine line. A trade war, or worse, between Europe and the United States would be particularly devastating for the Republic, given its close trade ties with Washington, and the concentration of US multinational tech and pharma firms in the State. <\/p>\n

French president Emmanuel Macron is expected to push for the EU to hit back hard, using emergency anti-coercion powers, to put some pressure on Trump. The so-called \u201cbig bazooka\u201d would allow the European Commission to restrict US companies\u2019 ability to operate in the EU market. <\/p>\n

Martin will probably have an ally in Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been another opponent of any response that would further antagonise the White House. The stance taken by German chancellor Friedrich Merz will be one to watch. <\/p>\n

It is rare such an emergency gathering of EU leaders is called. There was one when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and others during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Brexit negotiations. <\/p>\n

It is safe to assume other leaders will take some guidance from Denmark\u2019s prime minister Mette Frederiksen. Until now the Danish government had been trying to take the political heat out of the Greenland dispute, in the hopes Trump could be convinced the US does not need to own the island, to shore up its security interests in the Arctic region. <\/p>\n

A middle ground option being considered would see the EU hit \u20ac93 billion worth of trade coming from the US, from soybeans to Harley Davidson motorbikes, with retaliatory tariffs. <\/p>\n

Whether the European Union has the bottle, and political unity, required to ramp up the pressure, and absorb the possible painful US reaction that initially follows, is still an open question right now.<\/p>\n

Jack White – 43 minutes ago<\/p>\n

\u2018The limit has been reached\u2019: German finance minister says European countries will not be \u2018blackmailed\u2019 by Trump\"GermanGerman finance minister Lars Klingbeil and his French counterpart Roland Lescure give a joint statement on Monday in Berlin.
\nPhotograph: John MacDougall\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

European powers will not be \u201cblackmailed\u201d and there would be a clear and united response \u200dto threats of escalated US tariffs over Greenland, the German and \u200bFrench finance ministers have said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGermany and France agree: we will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed,\u201d German finance minister Lars Klingbeil \u200csaid at his ministry where he received his French counterpart on Monday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlackmail between allies of 250 years, blackmail between friends, is obviously unacceptable,\u201d French \u2060finance minister Roland Lescure added.<\/p>\n

EU leaders are set \u200cto \u200bdiscuss \u200doptions at an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday. One option is a package of tariffs on \u20ac93 billion of US imports that could automatically kick in on February 6 after a six-month suspension.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe Europeans must make it clear: \u2060the limit has been reached,\u201d Mr Klingbeil said. \u201cOur hand is extended but we are not prepared to be \u2060blackmailed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other option is the so far \u2060never used anti-coercion instrument, which could limit access to public tenders, investments or banking activity or restrict trade in services, in which the US has a surplus with the \u200dbloc, including in digital services.<\/p>\n

Mr Lescure said although the EU\u2019s anti-coercion instrument was above all a deterrent, it should be considered in the current circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrance wants us to examine this possibility, hoping, of course, that deterrence will prevail,\u201d he said. He added that he hoped the transatlantic relationship will return to being \u201cfriendly and based on negotiation, rather than a relationship based on threats and blackmail\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Klingbeil said he was not interested in escalation, as it would come at \u200cthe expense of economies \u200con both sides of the Atlantic. \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n

Jack White – 54 minutes ago<\/p>\n

Use of tariffs against allies \u2018completely wrong\u2019, says UK PM\"TheThe UK prime minister batted away suggestions that Britain should take ‘performative’ retaliatory action against the US, such as cancelling the state visit later this year to the US of King Charles.
\nPhotograph: Jordan Pettitt – WPA Pool\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s prime minister Keir Starmer has held an emergency press conference in Downing Street where he said he will try to avoid a trade war with the US, which has announced tariffs on Britain over its stance on Greenland.<\/p>\n

Our London Correspondent Mark Paul reports:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe use of tariffs against allies is completely wrong,\u201d said Starmer on Monday morning, during an address to the nation of Britain.<\/p>\n

The UK prime minister had been due to give a speech in Yorkshire on the cost of living on Monday morning, but he cancelled that to give the emergency address from Downing Street \u2013 an indication of the seriousness with which US president Donald Trump\u2019s threats to take control of Greenland are being taken in Britain.<\/p>\n

Mr Starmer said he spoke to Mr Trump by phone on Sunday night and told him that the future of Greenland was for the people of the Arctic territory and also the people of Denmark, which administers Greenland, to decide alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a principle here that cannot be set aside,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, the UK prime minister batted away suggestions that Britain should take \u201cperformative\u201d retaliatory action against the US, such as cancelling the state visit later this year to the US of King Charles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not indulge in gesture politics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While he did not definitively rule out levying retaliatory tariffs against the US, he said a trade war over Greenland was \u201cin no one\u2019s interests\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relationship between the US and UK matters profoundly,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cWe are determined to keep that relationship strong and constructive and focused on results.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMature alliances are not about pretending differences don\u2019t exist … Britain is a pragmatic country, we look for agreement … But it does not mean being passive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Starmer said the crisis over Greenland was a \u201cmoment for all of Britain to pull together\u201d. He said that he understood why Mr Trump\u2019s tariff threats had been \u201cbadly received across all of the UK\u201d.<\/p>\n

But, he added, it was vital for Britain to maintain its close military and trade partnerships with the US, including over Britain\u2019s nuclear capabilities, which is believed to need US assistance to function effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur nuclear deterrent requires us to have a good relationship with the US,\u201d said Mr Starmer. He said he didn\u2019t think the US president would consider military action over Greenland, and suggested he would seek to speak to him again in the coming days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a moment for the whole country to pull together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It is clear the US-EU trade deal agreed last summer \u201cwill not proceed any more\u201d, the chair of the European Parliament\u2019s International Trade Committee has said following Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cunacceptable\u201d threat.<\/p>\n

German MEP Bernd Lange said on Monday that the fate of the deal, which was described by Department of Finance officials as being of \u201ccritical importance\u201d to the Irish economy, will be decided on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are discussing this quite intensively because there was a breaking of the deal by the United States even before this action from Trump so we were quite sceptical.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter this threat, it\u2019s totally clear this deal will be put on ice, and we will not proceed any more. We will discuss it and decide it finally on Wednesday,\u201d he told RT\u00c9\u2019s Morning Ireland.<\/p>\n

The deal, which set US tariffs on imports from the EU at 15 per cent <\/a>in exchange for Europe not applying levies on American exports, was described in Department of Finance documents published last Friday as being \u201cof critical importance to the Irish economy\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mr Lange said counter measures are \u201cready\u201d, having been drawn up before trade negotiations with the US last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe list is there,\u201d he said, adding that it could be enforced \u201cimmediately\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said Mr Trump\u2019s use of tariffs as a political threat on Saturday is \u201ctotally unacceptable\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lange said security is a \u201cweakness\u201d of the EU, adding that this was the \u201cmain reason\u201d the trade deal was accepted in July in Scotland.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut on the other side, we have to defend our European sovereignty,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cThe experience in the last year is totally clear that if we are not going in a clear and offensive manner, at the end of the day, it is totally unsecure and unpredictable what is happening in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

British prime minister Keir Starmer said on Monday \u200dthat calm discussion between allies was needed on Greenland to \u200densure that historic alliances could endure.<\/p>\n

Mr Starmer told a press conference that \u2060Britain\u2019s alliance with the United States had provided \u200csecurity \u200band prosperity \u200dfor decades, and said he was determined to maintain those ties.<\/p>\n

But he said Trump\u2019s threats to impose \u2060escalating tariffs on Britain and European allies \u2060until the US was \u2060allowed to buy Greenland was wrong. He said the future of Greenland \u200dmust be decided by Denmark alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlliances endure because they\u2019re built on respect and partnership, not pressure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why I\u2019ve said the use of tariffs against allies is completely wrong. It \u200cis not \u200cthe right way to resolve differences within an alliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said on Greenland: \u201cthe right \u200cway to approach an issue of this seriousness is \u2060through calm discussion between allies\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said tariffs \u200cshould not \u2060be used \u200cagainst allies, \u200band \u200dthat his focus was to \u2060ensure \u2060a \u201ctariff war\u201d is avoided. \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n

Trump links Greenland threats to Nobel Peace Prize snub in letter to Norwegian PM<\/p>\n

Here is the full text of the letter sent by Donald Trump to Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr \u200dStoere:<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. <\/p>\n

\u201cDenmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a \u201cright of ownership\u201d anyway? There are no written documents, it\u2019s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nobel Peace Prize isn\u2019t decided by the Norwegian government but is awarded by an independent committee.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s letter, which was first reported by a PBS journalist on X, was shared by Trump\u2019s National Security Council with several other European governments, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private correspondence. \u2013 Bloomberg<\/p>\n

T\u00e1naiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris is attending a meeting of EU finance ministers on Monday, where the threat of fresh tariffs by the US will be discussed.<\/p>\n

In advance of the meeting, Mr Harris said an \u201cincredible amount of work\u201d was put into reaching an agreement with the US to protect transatlantic economic activity.<\/p>\n

He said developments which \u201cseek to undermine\u201d and \u201cmove away from that by the US are most concerning and very unwelcome\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIreland always favours agreement and dialogue. This threat of penalising European economies and businesses and linking that with Greenland is completely unacceptable and I know Europe will stand united and co-ordinated in considering how to respond,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trump told Norwegian PM he no longer feels an \u2018obligation to think purely of peace\u2019<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump told \u200dNorwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr \u200dStoere he no longer felt an \u201cobligation to think \u200cpurely of Peace\u201d \u2060after the Norwegian Nobel Committee \u200cdid \u200bnot \u200daward him the Nobel Peace Prize, as he \u2060repeated his demand \u2060for control of \u2060Greenland in a letter seen \u200dby Reuters.<\/p>\n

The Norwegian prime minister\u2019s office did not immediately reply to a request for \u200ccomment. \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n

UK prime minister Keir Starmer is due to speak at Downing Street on Monday following Donald Trump\u2019s threats to ramp up tariffs until a deal is reached on Greenland.<\/p>\n

Mr Starmer has told the US president it is \u201cwrong\u201d to apply tariffs to the UK and other European allies opposing his efforts to take over Greenland.<\/p>\n

He will set out the UK\u2019s approach to working with allies and how the country will be \u201cled by our values\u201d, according to a Government source.<\/p>\n

It comes as UN secretary general Antonio Guterres warned the UN has \u201cno leverage\u201d in resolving major global conflicts compared to the \u201cbig powers\u201d, adding the US appears to believe its own power is more important than international law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are those that believe the power of law should be replaced by the law of power,\u201d Mr Guterres told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, when one sees the present policy of the United States, there is a clear conviction that multilateral solutions are not relevant and that what matters is the exercise of the power and the influence of the United States and sometimes in this respect by the norms of international law\u201d. \u2013 PA<\/p>\n

Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has said the EU must \u201cremain calm\u201d in considering its response to Donald Trump\u2019s vow to impost tariffs, saying there should be no \u201cknee-jerk reactions\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking on RT\u00c9\u2019s Morning Ireland on Monday, Ms McEntee described the US president\u2019s vow to implement tariffs on eight European countries until a deal is reached for the US to purchase Greenland as \u201cunprecedented\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important that we remain calm and that there aren\u2019t knee-jerk reactions here. The EU has to look to see what options we have,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Noting that options are due to be discussed at a meeting of EU leaders this week, Ms McEntee said: \u201cWe need to be measured here in our response\u201d, adding that dialogue and engagement must be the first step with the US.<\/p>\n

She said the anti-coercion instrument, which would restrict access to the single market, is an \u201cextreme measure\u201d and \u201cis there as a last resort\u201d.<\/p>\n

Asked if the development was a result of Trump\u2019s power \u201cgoing unchecked\u201d, the Minister said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly feel that this is an approach that we have never seen from the US, and certainly, there are decisions being taken and directions being taken that we have never seen before, but that doesn\u2019t mean that we should change the response and the approach that we take.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom Ireland\u2019s perspective, we share excellent relations with the US, and have always done so through various different administrations, but we are a member of the EU, and we will remain unified in our response,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ms McEntee reiterated that \u201cwhat happens to Greenland is for the people of Greenland and for the people of Denmark\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean we don\u2019t go to the US, that we don\u2019t engage,\u201d she said, adding that \u201cwe need to be firm with our friends as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the annual St Patrick\u2019s Day visit to the White House, Ms McEntee said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe US is an excellent partner of Ireland. We have huge relations and ties, not just economically but culturally, and so many other ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that does not mean where we see wrongdoing, that does not mean where we disagree, that we don\u2019t call it out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the White House has always been a perfect opportunity for our Taoiseach and for other colleagues to raise issues of concern.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Main pointsTrump accounced on Saturday he would impose tariffs on eight European countries from the beginning of February…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[969,2244,3024,61,60,43,90],"class_list":{"0":"post-252432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-donald-trump","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-greenland","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}