U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of 10% tariffs against European countries over Greenland set off an unusually forceful rebuke from allies on Sunday, with Denmark and other nations warning that tariff threats could “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.” The joint statement came nearly 24 hours after Trump’s Saturday warning about using tariffs as leverage tied to Greenland’s status.
In the statement, the countries said their posture toward Greenland’s security was not directed against the United States, arguing instead that current troop deployments are meant to be defensive. They said troops sent to Greenland for operation “Arctic Endurance” “pose no threat to anyone,” and characterized the dispute as one that should be addressed through dialogue grounded in sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland were named as the signatories to the joint statement. The countries said they “stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind,” repeating that tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a “dangerous downward spiral.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said a dialogue had been opened with the United States last week, telling reporters in Oslo, “we will not give up on that. … So we will stay on track — unless U.S. decides differently.” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the countries would not accept being pressured, adding, “We will not allow ourselves to be put under pressure, and those types of threats (of U.S. tariffs) are unacceptable between close allies,” during the same news conference.
Several of the targeted countries are in the European Union, which operates as a single economic zone for trade. After emergency talks among EU national envoys Sunday, EU Council President Antonio Costa said bloc leaders agreed “that tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and are incompatible with the EU-U.S. trade agreement.” Costa also said leaders expressed “readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion” and was expected to convene a summit later this week.
Trump’s Saturday announcement set up what the report described as a test of U.S. partnerships in Europe. It appeared to link tariff threats to pressure for talks over Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that Trump regards as critical to U.S. national security. Late Sunday, Trump also posted that NATO has warned Denmark for two decades about the Russian threat to Greenland, and said Denmark hasn’t acted, adding, “Now it is time, and it will be done!!!”
The dispute also raised practical questions about how the White House could implement tariffs against the EU and what legal authorities might apply, including whether emergency economic powers could be used in a way that is subject to a U.S. Supreme Court challenge, the report said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas posted that “China and Russia will benefit from divisions between the U.S. and Europe,” and added that “If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO.”
Outside government, Rasmus Søndergaard, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, described Trump’s move as “unprecedented” because tariff threats normally stem from trade disagreements rather than territorial disputes between allies. He told The Associated Press that European governments may be calculating that yielding to Trump’s approach could lead to the next demand, and he said Europe’s leverage is primarily economic—reciprocal tariffs—since Europeans cannot compete militarily in the same way.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wrote on social media Sunday that he had spoken with Trump, saying, “We will continue working on this, and I look forward to seeing him in Davos later this week.” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer also told Trump that “applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is wrong,” according to a Downing Street spokeswoman.
The report also described domestic and European political criticism of Trump’s threatened tariffs. U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly said Americans would “pay more to try to get territory we don’t need,” and later warned on social media, “Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,” while arguing that the damage to relationships is growing. Former Vice President Mike Pence said he supports the United States ultimately owning Greenland, but argued against Trump’s approach, saying Trump’s stance threatens “to fracture that strong relationship, not just with Denmark, but with all of our NATO allies,” according to his comments on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
In Europe, Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni said she does not agree with Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on European countries that want to send troops to Greenland. She said she had spoken to Trump and described the decision as “a mistake,” and she said deployments were aimed at providing security against “other actors” she did not identify. Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally and a European Parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last year’s tariff deal with the U.S., calling Trump’s threats “commercial blackmail.” The report said the tariff threat also drew criticism across Britain’s main political parties, including Reform UK, and described a heckler and a singing moment in London around the time of the developments.