President Trump has been silent since yesterday’s announcement of tariffs in retaliation against Nato allies after their outspoken support of Greenland’s independence.
He has been holed up at the Trump International Golf Course in Florida and has made no comment to the press pool of reporters that trail him.
Reportedly, his attention is currently consumed by the ongoing standoff between ICE and protesters in Minneapolis.
Trump in Davos: tariff bombshell meets ‘spirit of dialogue’
President Trump addressed last year’s meeting by video
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Days after his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States last year, Donald Trump gave a surprise guest address to delegates at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. Dialling in from Washington, the president announced his return to the international stage by lambasting the European Union for its tax regime and regulations. “The EU treats us very, very unfairly, very badly,” Trump said.
On Wednesday, he will return to the Swiss mountain town in person for the first time since 2020, days after launching a major escalation against Europe and its governments. Over the weekend Trump said that eight European nations, including the UK, would be hit with a fresh 10 per cent tariff on all goods exports for frustrating America’s attempts to annex Greenland. The threat marks a fresh nadir in transatlantic relations after a year in which the US has imposed the highest tariffs on European goods in nearly a century, and where US demands on Greenland now threaten to hollow out the Nato military alliance.
“Europe knows it’s in trouble but there’s not much policy action,” Marieke Blom, chief economist at ING, said.
• Read in full: Tariff bombshell meets ‘spirit of dialogue’
Trump ‘cannot compel other nations to sell land to US’
Mike Turner, the Republican representative for Ohio, told CBS that President Trump didn’t have the authority to use military force to invade Greenland.
Turner, who chairs the US delegation to the Nato parliamentary assembly, said that the president’s constant threats of military action had caused tension among allies.
He also questioned the use of tariffs to push through a purchase of the territory, telling CBS’s Face the Nation that even if the Supreme Court allowed Trump under emergency law to impose tariffs, they would be limited.
“Even if he is found to have tariff authority, I don’t believe he has the ability to impose tariffs to compel other nations to sell the United States land for expansion,” Turner added.
Nato chief speaks with Trump
Mark Rutte, the Nato chief, said that he had spoken to Present Trump about his plans for Greenland, and added: “We will continue working on this.”
Rutte said “I look forward to seeing him in Davos later this week”, referring to the World Economic Forum annual gathering in Switzerland.
Seven of the eight Arctic countries are Nato members
Speaking at the same conference, Barth Eide, Norway’s foreign minister, pointed out: “Of the eight countries who happen to be in the Arctic, seven are Nato members.
“So we’re actually well prepared to deal with existing challenges and future security challenges in the Arctic. The very essence of Nato is to protect the sovereign and territorial integrity of its member states.”
‘We had the chance to challenge the president’
After meeting the US vice-president JD Vance and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio; Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Denmark’s foreign minister, told a news conference: “We are trying to get the president to abandon the idea that he has to own Greenland. I don’t doubt that we have strong and persistent support from the EU on Greenland.”
JONAS BEEN HENRIKSEN/NTB/AP
On the topic of security, he said: “We haven’t had a Chinese warship in Greenland for a decade or so,” and referred to talks on the subject as ‘productive’.
He added: “I am pleased that even though we do not agree … at least it is productive to start discussions at a high level and then we have to see if we will be successful or not. The meeting took place in a very constructive atmosphere and we had the chance to challenge the president. It was basically about security and even though there is not an instant threat, but there is a concern, will that be a concern in ten years for now? It will not.”
Trump could end up hurting Americans, warns former trade commissioner
Cecilia Malmström, the former EU trade commissioner, warned that President Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland were pushing the US and Europe towards a trade war, and could end up hurting America most of all.
Speaking to Times Radio, Malmström said tariffs announced against Denmark, the UK and others would mark a serious escalation. She argued that Trump’s approach has not changed since his first term. “He’s always loved tariffs,” she said, noting he was praising them as far back as the 1980s.
However, she warned that tariffs were ultimately a tax. “It is the consumers who suffer,” she said, warning that US households and the wider American economy would bear the cost.
She suggested Europe was running out of patience, dismissing Trump’s Greenland rhetoric bluntly: “We’re not going to sell Greenland. Greenland is not for sale.”
Malmström said the EU was discussing joint retaliation, including counter-tariffs and the use of its “anti-coercion” trade powers, while warning that Trump’s unpredictability risks undermining investor confidence in the US itself.
Trump’s tariffs are ‘strategic decision’
Scott Bessent said that European leaders would “come around” to Trump’s plans for Greenland. He said: “They will understand that they need to be under the US security umbrella.”
The Treasury secretary also justified the new tariffs against European nations as a response to a “national emergency”.
He said: “It is a strategic decision by the president. This is a geopolitical decision and he is able to use the economic might of the US to avoid a hot war. So, why wouldn’t we do that?”
Europeans ‘project weakness’
Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, said Trump was “being strategic” in his bid to acquire Greenland.
He said: “We are not going to outsource our national security. We are not going to outsource our hemispheric security to other countries.”
Bessent said that the fight for the Arctic was “real” and that to avoid the US getting “dragged in” the president was acting now, adding: “Better now, peace through strength, make it part of the United States and there will not be a conflict because the United States right now, we are the hottest country in the world, we are the strongest country in the world. The Europeans project weakness, the US projects strength.”
Flow of troops in and out of Greenland
Germany has withdrawn its 15 military planners from Greenland, as part of the original plans announced on Wednesday rather than in response to the American tariff threats.
Other Nato allies will continue to send small contingents of troops, including two Belgian officers who are expected to arrive on Monday. Here are the national contributions that have been made public so far:
• Denmark: unknown, but about 150 military personnel are already deployed on Greenland
• France: 15 soldiers from the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade
• Germany: 15-strong “scoping” team from the armed forces operational command
• Sweden: three officers
• Finland: two liaison officers
• Norway: two officers
• Slovenia: two officers
• Netherlands: two officers (one logistics planner and one operations planner)
• Iceland: two members of the coast guard (Iceland has no armed forces)
• UK: one officer
• Belgium: one officer, from Monday
Greenland’s sovereignty cannot be violated, says Irish leader
The sovereignty of Greenland and Denmark cannot be violated, the Irish premier said.
Micheál Martin, the Irish prime minister, who described President Trump’s tariff threats as “unacceptable”, called for further talks to prevent a trade war.
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“The territorial integrity, the sovereignty of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark cannot be violated,” Martin said in a post on social media.
“Any trade war would be very damaging to everybody in the world, damaging to United States, damaging to Europe.”
Trump is his own worst enemy
President Trump’s former economics adviser has urged the UK and Europe to negotiate an agreement with the US over Greenland.
Stephen Moore, who worked on the president’s 2016 election campaign, told Times Radio that the president “can be his own worst enemy” and added: “This Greenland case might be one of those.”
He said: “I believe the Europeans and Trump should sit down and come up with some agreement where our security needs are met. Incidentally, this is part of Nato. He believes that the United States having a bigger military presence in Greenland would be in all of our interests.”
Moore described Trump as a “master negotiator” who had got a better deal for the US on trade, even if tariffs had hurt the economy.
• Listen to live updates on Times Radio
Jon Yeomans: What more Trump tariffs mean for the UK
It was only in May that Lord Mandelson stood in the Oval Office, grinning awkwardly on live TV as President Trump announced a “historic” UK-US trade deal that made us the first country to escape the worst of his “liberation day” tariffs. Now here we are again, staring down the barrel of punishing taxes on our exports to America.
First, a hike to 10 per cent from February 1, on top of a blanket 10 per cent already applied by Trump last year. This extra rate then jumps to 25 per cent from June 1 if we, and other European countries, do not agree to trade away Greenland to our (supposed) Nato ally.
In theory, the cost will be borne by US consumers. In practice, UK exporters face the dilemma of whether to swallow the price rises themselves or see their American sales all but dry up.
• Read in full: From carmakers to steelmakers, who will be affected?
‘This is a matter that goes beyond our borders’
Denmark’s prime minister warned that “Europe will not be blackmailed”, in a statement thanking European allies for their backing.
“The Kingdom of Denmark is receiving great support,” Mette Frederiksen said. “At the same time, it is now only more clear that this is a matter that goes far beyond our own borders.”
Frederiksen said she had been in intensive dialogue with Nato allies, including Sir Keir Starmer, after Trump’s threat to impose tariffs until the US took over Greenland, a Danish territory.
“All the more important is that we stand firm on the fundamental values that created the European community. We want to co-operate and we are not the ones seeking conflict,” she added.
Greenland strategy threatens Nato relationship, says Pence
Mike Pence, who served as vice-president in Trump’s first administration, said that he supported the acquisition of Greenland but was critical of the current strategy.
He told CNN: “I do think the current posture, which I hope will change and abate, does threaten to fracture that strong relationship, not just with Denmark but with all of our Nato allies.”
Pence said that he had “concerns about using what I think is a questionable constitutional authority, imposing unilateral tariffs on Nato allies to achieve this objective”.
ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES
US leader ‘has concerns over Canada’s border’
President Trump has reportedly complained to aides repeatedly in recent weeks that Canada, like Greenland, could also be vulnerable to adversaries in the Arctic.
NBC News reported that Trump has argued that Canada would be unable to defend its border from China or Russia, and that it must spend more on defence.
Internal conversations have not included any suggestion of stationing US troops on the ground or seeking to purchase or acquire the country through military means. However discussions have since accelerated on a wider Arctic strategy and the possibility of a deal with Canada to strengthen its northern border.
Oliver Moody: How Europe could retaliate against Trump’s Greenland tariffs
After President Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs on eight Nato allies that oppose a US takeover of Greenland, there has been a palpable shift in tone from Europe’s leaders.
European leaders with President Trump in August
ALEXANDER DRAGO/REUTERS
Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish prime minister, said: “We will not let ourselves be blackmailed.” Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister and the only European head of government invited to Trump’s inauguration, called the move a “mistake”.
Even Alexander Stubb, the Finnish president, who prides himself on his rhetorical restraint and has played golf with the US president, warned of a “harmful spiral” that would damage the transatlantic axis.
• Read in full: Any response will be both painstakingly calibrated and probably painful
Countries confirm ‘full solidarity’ despite Trump’s threats
President Trump’s tariff threats “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” the UK government has said in a joint statement with seven other European countries. It said: “We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland.
The statement was signed by Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, who were all singled out by the US president after they sent military officers to the island earlier this week.
It added: “As members of Nato, we are committed to strengthening Arctic security as a shared transatlantic interest … Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind.”
Personnel from the German armed forces board a flight leaving Nuuk airport for Reykjavik
ALESSANDRO RAMPAZZO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Why does Trump want Greenland?
Since the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, President Trump has ramped up threats to seize control of Greenland, which he has long argued should come under US control.
Trump has refused to rule out using military force to occupy the island, which the prime ministers of both Denmark and Greenland insist is not for sale.
The day after the operation in Caracas, Trump told reporters: “We need Greenland from a national security situation. It’s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.”
• Read in full: US president doubles down on threats to take mineral-rich territory
Italian government split over tariffs
The row over the threatened Greenland tariffs has caused divisions within the Italian government.
Matteo Salvini, the leader of the anti-immigrant League party, who is a deputy prime minister and transport minister, said on social media: “The mania for announcing the sending of troops here and there gathers its bitter fruits. Good that Italy kept out of this bellicosity, rhetorical and harmful, of the weak nations of Europe.”
His colleague Claudio Borghi, a member of the senate, appeared to welcome the tariffs, however, and said: “If things remain this way, it will be a fantastic incentive for wine and many other Italian sectors.”
Guido Crosetto, the defence minister and a founder of Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, said celebration of sanctions that would weaken Italy’s trade partners was incomprehensible. He added: “We are not cheering for Milan and Inter, so we should hope that dialogue and good sense prevail between our allies. And when that doesn’t happen, work to recreate it.”
Watch: ‘This is not how allies should treat each other’
Politicians across the world react to Trump’s tariffs:
Italian PM speaks with Trump on tariffs
Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, has spoken with President Trump to try to persuade him to withdraw his tariffs on Nato allies who have sent troops to Greenland.
Meloni told reporters in Seoul that she had phone calls with both Trump and Mark Rutte, the secretary general of Nato, but declined to elaborate on Trump’s reaction.
She said: “I think he was interested in listening, but I think that from the American point of view the message that arrived on that side of the Atlantic was not clear. Clearly the actors that are concerning are others,” she said, in an apparent reference to Russia and China, “but it seems to me that that message was not at all clear.”
Meloni said the sending of allied troops to Greenland should not be seen in an “anti-American light” and there was a need for renewed dialogue to avoid an escalation of the crisis.
EU should use ‘legal bazooka’ to push back, says Macron
President Macron wants the European Union to use “anti-coercion” legislation to block President Trump’s tariffs.
His team said on Sunday that it hoped the European Union would use what is commonly dubbed as the bloc’s legal “bazooka”, which allows for curbing imports of goods and services. It has previously been implemented to push back over tech and trade.
UK cosying up to Trump ‘has not helped’
The UK’s former chief trade negotiator said that Sir Keir Starmer’s cosying up to President Trump had not paid off.
Sir Crawford Falconer told Times Radio: “We told ourselves that if we did a deal with them, we might be able to stabilise it, but what it shows is even if you were, if you’re like the best kid in the class, you still cop it when another issue comes along. So there is no real security in dealing.
“There comes a point where you reach the judgment that all is lost and therefore you do have to adopt an adversarial approach.
“There could well be a point at which you have to fundamentally change the nature of your trade and economic relationship. But I don’t think we’re quite there yet, but it doesn’t mean to say it won’t happen.”
• Read in full: Trump accused of blackmailing allies with tariffs over Greenland
Trump’s tariffs on opponents are a mistake, says Meloni
Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, has called President Trump’s threat to slap tariffs on opponents of his plan to seize Greenland a “mistake”.
Speaking to journalists in Seoul, where she is currently touring, she said: “I believe that imposing new sanctions today would be a mistake … I spoke to Donald Trump a few hours ago and told him what I think.”
Farage’s ‘friendship with Trump could be useful’
Nigel Farage’s relationship with President Trump could help in discussions on Greenland, the deputy leader of Reform UK has said.
Trump with Nigel Farage
TIA DUFOUR/THE WHITE HOUSE/PA
Richard Tice said that he hoped the pair would have “an opportunity to have some words” on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month.
He told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “That’s where real friendship can come in, to say look, we understand what you’re trying to achieve, this is the wrong way to go about it.”
Tice said that negotiations needed to take in place in private but that Starmer should make clear to Trump there were “lots of things that could be on the table”, ranging from tariffs and tech to the Chagos Bill.
• Read in full: Farage ponders life as PM after Maga welcome to Washington
Watch: Greenland defence agreement ‘completely bizarre’
The former UK national security adviser said the US could achieve what they want through working with Denmark, due to the wording of the defence agreement in place.
Lord Rickets also praised Britain, France and other countries for considering sending troops to Greenland, adding that Artic security was a shared priority for Nato.
‘Putin got exactly what he paid for’
An account on X named Republicans Against Trump has criticised what it calls Trump’s “war” on “our allies”, in reference to the bid to acquire Greenland. In a post to more than 990,000 followers, the account shared a screenshot of Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian envoy, gloating over a rambling post by Trump on the matter, remarking: “Collapse of the transatlantic union. Finally, something actually worth discussing in Davos.”
Republicans Against Trump wrote: “Top Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev is openly celebrating Trump’s war on our allies. Putin got exactly what he paid for.”
What more Trump tariffs could mean for the UK
President Trump announced a “historic” UK-US trade deal that made us the first country to escape the worst of his “liberation day” tariffs. Now here we are again, staring down the barrel of punishing taxes on our exports to America.
First, a hike to 10 per cent from February 1, on top of a blanket 10 per cent already applied by Trump last year. This extra rate then jumps to 25 per cent from June 1 if we, and other European countries, do not agree to trade away Greenland to our (supposed) Nato ally.
In theory, the cost will be borne by US consumers. In practice, UK exporters face the dilemma of whether to swallow the price rises themselves or see their American sales all but dry up.
• Read in full: What more Trump tariffs mean for the UK: carmakers, look away now
Danish minister to visit UK on Monday
Denmark’s foreign minister will visit the UK on Monday to discuss the alliance’s Arctic security strategy, his ministry has announced.
Lars Lokke Rasmussen will begin a diplomatic tour of Nato allies with a trip to Oslo on Sunday before travelling to London on Monday and then on to Stockholm on Thursday.
Trump has accused Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland of playing a “very dangerous game” after they sent a few dozen troops to the island as part of a military drill.
“In an unstable and unpredictable world, Denmark needs close friends and allies,” Rasmussen stated. “Our countries share the view that we all agree on the need to strengthen Nato’s role in the Arctic, and I look forward to discussing how to achieve this.”
How much would Greenland cost if Denmark sold it to Trump?
SUNDAY TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JACK HILL
President Trump may have to spend as much as $700 billion to buy Greenland, or almost 85 per cent of America’s 2025 defence budget.
The figure is an estimate by academics and former US officials who were asked by NBC News to look at the potential price.
Yet despite being more than the Republic of Ireland’s GDP for last year, it might not be enough for Denmark to agree to sell its autonomous territory.
• Read in full: Breaking down the cost of Trump’s Greenland bid
Minister calls for ‘adult debate’ with US
Lisa Nandy said the UK needs to have an “adult debate” with the US.
She said Sir Keir Starmer will talk to Trump at the “earliest opportunity” but could not say if that would be at Davos in the coming week.
She told the BBC: “Often, with this particular US administration, the president will express a very strong view. He will then encourage a dialogue. He welcomes difference of opinion, and we will never shy away from standing up for what we believe is right, or asserting British interests. And what often happens is a negotiation.”
She added: “I think this is actually a really serious issue, and I think it deserves a far more adult debate than us threatening the United States and the United States threatening us.”
Trump is ‘exerting peace through strength’, Mike Johnson says
The speaker of the US House of Representatives said diplomatic channels, not military intervention is the right path for the US regarding Greenland.
Speaking before President Trump announced tariffs on the UK, Mike Johnson told the BBC: “I don’t foresee military intervention in Greenland. Diplomatic channels are the way to go.”
He described President Trump as “exerting peace through strength again”. “He uses bravado sometimes to do it, that’s his personality,” he added.
US should not be ‘in same basket’ as China and Russia, ex-MI5 chief says
A former director general of MI5 said the UK should “strain every muscle” to make sure that it is closely aligned to the US.
Lord Evans of Weardale told Times Radio that President Trump’s America should not be “in the same basket” as China and Russia.
He said: “The way in which foreign policy is developing in America is challenging … but fundamentally it is in our interest as far as we can to continue our friendship and our alliance with the United States, which has been enormously beneficial to our security and to American security over the last two generations.”
Evans added that selling Greenland “would not be the right way to go”, but “we should strain every muscle to make sure that we are as closely aligned to the United States as it’s possible to be in the circumstances”.
Greenland minister praises European response
Greenland’s minister for trade and natural resources has praised the “courage” of the European countries threatened by President Trump’s tariffs.
Naaja Nathanielsen wrote on LinkedIn, after attending a street protest against Trump’s acquisition plan: “We live in extraordinary times that calls [sic] not only on decency but also great courage. I am amazed to witness the first responses from the targeted countries.”
Mike Johnson: ‘We have no ill will for our friends in Greenland’
Mike Johnson is on a visit to Britain and addresses parliament on Tuesday
SUNDAY TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JACK HILL
Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House of Representatives, is in the UK as part of the celebrations to mark America’s 250th anniversary year. However, his visit comes at a time when the two nations are facing a series of disagreements on foreign policy and more.
An area where the two sides seem far apart is Greenland, where Trump says he will take the Arctic island one way or another, with the UK warning against.
Speaking in Washington this month, Johnson suggested US military action in Greenland “would not be appropriate”. Last week, Nato sent a small number of troops to the Arctic island. On Friday, Johnson welcomed this as a sign the Europeans are taking defence seriously. “I see that as a positive development and I think President Trump’s emphasis on that has drawn our allies’ attention to it”.
• Read in full: Does Mike Johnson have the stomach for US conquest in the Arctic?
Nato military chiefs to meet in Brussels on Wednesday
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton will join other chiefs of defence staff at Nato headquarters on Wednesday for a two-day meeting of the military committee.
The issue of Greenland is expected to come up as allies discuss the “northern strategic direction”.
“Of course the northern strategic direction will be discussed, as the eastern and southern one,” said a Nato source. “We have and will always have a 360 degree approach to security.”
Business leaders brand Trump’s measure as ‘grotesque’ and ‘nonsensical’
The European business lobbies have reacted with dismay to Trump’s tariff announcement.
Hildegard Müller, the head of the German Association of the Automotive Industry, said the costs for her country’s industrial base would be “enormous”.
Dirk Jandura, the president of the BGA overseas trade association in Germany, said the measure was “grotesque”. “It’s actually inconceivable that the United States is punishing the participants in a Nato mission here. This is a new nadir in US-European trade relations,” he said.
Harald Solberg, the chief executive of the Federation of Norwegian Industries, concurred. “It’s almost unbelievable,” he told the public broadcaster NRK. “In my opinion, it appears to be utterly nonsensical.”
UN general assembly president warns of ‘disaster’ as sovereignty row escalates
The president of the UN general assembly said sovereignty is in the UN charter because otherwise the result would be “disaster”.
Asked for her reaction to the tariffs over Greenland, Annalena Baerbock told Sky News that the UN charter is “not optional, it is indeed existential”.
She said: “I came here to commemorate 80 years of UN first general assembly meeting here in London. You could still see back then the wounds of war.
“There was a reason why we drafted in the past this charter of sovereignty for everybody, territorial integrity to everybody, knowing that if we would not respect the territorial integrity of other states it would end in disaster.
“This is the message the world needs right now from the whole international community.”
US officer ‘sought information on Greenland’
A United States military officer tried to obtain information about Greenland’s infrastructure from a Danish colleague on the island a year ago, according to a report.
Berlingske, a Danish newspaper, said the two email requests to Lieutenant Colonel Lars H Madsen, the liaison officer at Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command, had been made in January 2025, only a few days before President Trump’s inauguration.
They bypassed the usual channels, which would have run through the Danish foreign ministry, defence ministry or senior armed forces leadership.
It is unclear precisely what information the American sought and whether Madsen handed it over.
Nandy: UK will not back down on Greenland
The UK government will not change its position on Greenland despite the threat of US tariffs, Lisa Nandy said.
Echoing Sir Keir Starmer’s comments, the culture secretary told Times Radio that there are “serious challenges in the Arctic region” which countries need to “work together” to resolve.
Asked if the UK would keep in line with Europe, she added: “I can guarantee that our position, which is based on principles about the sovereignty of countries and their own right to determine their own futures, will not change.”
She also said it is “perfectly possible to have disagreements with some of your closest friends and allies”. Nandy added: “Our relationship with the United States is second to none and has helped to keep generations of people here in the UK and over in the United States safe, and we’ll continue to do that.”
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary
WIKTOR SZYMANOWICZ/FUTURE PUBLISHING/GETTY IMAGES
‘Greenland not for sale’, say protesters
A statue of President Trump carried aloft by protesters in Copenhagen on Saturday
JOHAN NILSSON/TT/SHUTTERSTOCK
Thousands of people chanting “Greenland is not for sale” protested in several Danish cities on Saturday after President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on countries that oppose his drive to seize the Arctic island.
In Copenhagen, demonstrators waving the red-and-white Erfalasorput flag of Greenland, assembled in City Hall Square before marching towards the American embassy. Banners read: “Hands off Greenland” and “Make America Smart Again”.
Also on Saturday, protesters gathered in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, where organisers planned to march to the American consulate.
Read more: Protests in Denmark against Trump takeover
Germany’s AfD turn on Trump
The hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which normally prides itself on excellent relations with the Maga movement, has turned on President Trump over the tariffs.
Tino Chrupalla, the AfD’s joint leader, told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that the “imperial policy” had to be “viewed critically”, although he questioned whether Trump was serious in his insistence on annexing Greenland.
A big hit to EU economies
Economists have already modelled the likely effects of across-the-board 25 per cent US tariffs on Europe’s larger economies during trade tensions with Washington last year.
Estimates suggest that the overall hit to the European Union would be about 0.5 per cent of GDP over the medium term.
In the case of Germany, which is unusually dependent on goods exports to the United States, it would be between 0.5 and 1 per cent of GDP over two years, according to a study by Commerzbank.
France’s growth would slow by about 0.3 or 0.4 per cent of GDP.
Leading MEP calls for suspension of US trade deal
The most powerful politician in the European parliament has paved the way for Brussels to suspend its trade deal with the United States in response to President Trump’s fresh tariffs.
Manfred Weber, a Bavarian conservative MEP and head of the chamber’s largest political bloc, said the time had come for the European Union’s zero tariffs on US goods to be “put on hold”.
EU leaders accuse Trump of ‘blackmail’
European leaders said they would not be swayed by “blackmail” after Trump announced the tariffs.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said: “Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law. Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” she added. The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said: “China and Russia must be having a field day”.
Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish prime minister, said: “We won’t let ourselves be blackmailed.”
France’s President Macron vowed: “No intimidation nor threat will influence us.” He added that Europeans will respond in a “united and co-ordinated manner”.
Starmer condemns tariffs as ‘completely wrong’
Sir Keir Starmer described the tariffs, adding to what Britain already pays, as “completely wrong”.
He said the government’s position on Greenland was “very clear — it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes”.
Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer, pictured during the UK state visit in September
LEON NEAL/REUTERS
The prime minister added: “We have also made clear that Arctic security matters for the whole of Nato, and allies should all do more together to address the threat from Russia across different parts of the Arctic.
“Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of Nato allies is completely wrong. We will of course be pursuing this directly with the US administration.”
It is understood that Britain, which has taken a less combative approach publicly on Greenland than other European allies, was not warned about Trump’s tariff announcement.
Trump to impose tariffs on Nato allies over Greenland
President Trump has announced tariffs on UK and other Nato allies opposing an American takeover of Greenland.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said a 10 per cent import tax would start next month and that it was time for “Denmark to give back” as “world peace is at stake”.
He took aim at eight European countries, including the UK, which took part in a Nato training exercise in Greenland last week.
Britain sent one military officer at Denmark’s request. The European contingent included 15 soldiers from Germany, 13 officers from France, three officers from Sweden, two from Finland, two from Norway, and a Dutch naval officer.
Trump said his administration was “immediately open to negotiation” with the countries involved. He said the tariffs would only end when “a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland”.