Trump says he will implement Greenland tariff threat ‘100 percent’, EU vows to protect its interests

Donald Trump has vowed to follow through “100 percent” on his threat to impose tariffs on European countries that oppose his demands to control Greenland.

European allies unite around Greenland sovereignty. Denmark’s foreign minister stressed that the US president cannot threaten his claim to Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper reiterated the UK’s position that Greenland’s future should be decided by “Greenlanders and Danes”.

On Monday, Trump refused to rule out the use of force and insisted he would continue to impose tariffs on goods arriving in the United States from Britain and seven other NATO allies.

Asked whether he would use force to seize Greenland, Trump responded: “No comment.”

The US president said he would impose 10% tariffs on Britain “on all goods exported to the United States” from February 1, rising to 25% from June 1 until Washington reaches an agreement to buy Greenland from Denmark.

Trump said the same applies to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland – all members of NATO, the defense alliance founded in 1949.

Asked if he would follow through on his tariff threat, Trump told NBC News: “I will, 100 percent.”

Trump added: “Europe should be focused on the war with Russia and Ukraine because, frankly, you see what that’s done to them… That’s what Europe should be focused on, not Greenland.”

Denmark has warned that US military action in Greenland will lead to the end of NATO. Greenland has received support from the alliance’s European members in recent days – some even sent small numbers of troops to Greenland last week in a move seen as symbolic.

However, Trump announced tariffs on eight NATO allies following the deployment.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lok Rasmussen said Europe must make clear to President Trump that the threat of tariffs “is not the way forward.”

“We have red lines that we cannot cross,” he told Sky News. “You cannot threaten your claim to Greenland. I have no intention of escalating the situation.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that NATO will continue to cooperate with Denmark and Greenland on Arctic security issues.

The European Union will hold an emergency summit of leaders in Brussels on Thursday to discuss how to respond to Trump’s latest threat to take over Greenland.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Karas said the EU “has no interest in provocation, but we will stand our ground.”

“But trade threats are not the answer to this problem,” Karas added. “Sovereignty is not about trade.”

Text exchanges between Trump and Norway’s prime minister released, show Sunday US president blames Norway for not winning Nobel Peace Prize.

In a reply seen by the BBC, Jonas Gahr Støre explained that an independent committee, not the Norwegian government, awarded the award, which was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado last October.

Steller added: “Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter.”

Trump also addressed the text message exchange in Monday’s interview, saying: “No matter what they say, Norway has complete control over it (the Nobel Prize).

“They like to say they had nothing to do with it, but they had something to do with it all.”

Meanwhile, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) announced on Monday that multiple aircraft were en route to the Pitufik Space Base in Greenland.

The U.S.-Canada Joint Military Defense Organization emphasized that this was part of a routine operation “in support of various long-term planned NORAD activities” and said they had coordinated with Denmark and notified the Greenland government.

NORAD conducted similar operations at the base in 2022, 2023 and last year.