TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Donald Trump appears increasingly set on taking Greenland. As the U.S. president put it in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, this can be done "the easy way," by Denmark setting a price for its territory, or "the hard way," by which he is thought to mean adversarial tactics. With Greenland's people and politicians resisting the easy way, Trump has now turned his attention to threatening eight European nations who have sent troops or other representatives to the frozen island.
A 10 percent import tariff on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland will be in place from February 1 until a "deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.
The U.S. president added that, should the matter not be resolved by June 1, tariffs will increase to 25 percent for the affected countries, six of whom are European Union members and all of whom are in NATO.
What tariffs and trade deals are in place between U.S. and the eight countries?
One of the most prominent features of the first year of the second Trump administration has been the president's keenness to use trade deals and tariffs as a negotiating tool.
Trump slapped a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminium, and later automobiles, from the EU last March, before the bloc responded with some damaging tariffs of their own. Trump then proposed a blanket 20 percent tariff in April before a series of u-turns and delays. The parties reached a deal in July that set a 15 percent tariff on most EU exports to the U.S., but negotiations are ongoing.
The 0 percent tariffs promised to the U.S. as part of that deal have yet to be rubber stamped in the EU, which may prove key in current discussions. Furthermore, as EU members, Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland have no power to make individual trade deals or be impacted by individual trade sanctions. This means the logistics of individual tariffs on those countries are completely unclear, as is the question of whether these tariffs add directly on top of existing tariffs.
Since it is no longer an EU member, the UK has negotiated its own trade deal with the U.S. administration. When that deal was signed last May, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described it as a "fantastic, historic day." British steel and aluminium export tariffs were cut to zero and tariffs on car exports, and other less economically important sectors, were set at 10 percent, a more favorable position than most of the world.
Norway is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Economic Area (EEA), which means it aligns with EU internal market rules for goods, but remains outside the EU Customs Union. This means the country's trade deals are negotiated through the EFTA but not entirely tied to the EU's deals. The tariff on most goods exported from Norway to the U.S. was 15 percent before Trump's latest announcement on his Truth Social platform.
What's been the reaction to Trump's tariffs in the US?
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Democrats will try to block the latest tariffs. "Donald Trump's foolhardy tariffs have already driven up prices and damaged our economy and now he is only making things worse," Schumer said in a statement. "It is incredible that he wants to double down on the stupidity by imposing tariffs on our closest allies for his quixotic quest to takeover Greenland."
While Trump claimed "world peace is at stake" and that Russia and China will take Greenland if the U.S. doesn't, even members of his own party appear queasy at him taking on the European countries.
"Our NATO allies are being forced to divert attention and resources to Greenland, a dynamic that plays directly into [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's hands by threatening the stability of the strongest coalition of democracies the world has ever seen," Lisa Murkowski, Republican senator for Alaska, wrote on X, before adding that the European countries sending delegations to Greenland "poses no threat to anyone."
How have the European countries reacted?
The condemnation of the U.S. threats has been all but universal among European leaders. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel both labeled Trump's plan as "blackmail," while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said a U.S. invasion of Greenland "would make Putin the happiest man on Earth."
In Scandinavia, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the tariffs would "harm both Europe and the US" while Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store wrote on X that "threats have no place among allies." An emergency EU meeting has been arranged for Sunday afternoon.
The reaction from the German government has so far been a little more cautious. Through a spokesperson, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said only that his government "has taken note of" Trump's statements and will work with allies to "decide on appropriate responses at the appropriate time." Germany pulled a 15-strong military reconnaissance team out of Greenland on Sunday, as originally planned.
There are also concerns for German industry. "If we assume the tariffs will be added to the existing tariffs, this will be an unfortunate headwind for the German economy. An additional 25 percent would cost around 0.2 percentage points growth," economist Carsten Brzeski told the Reuters news agency.
What happens next?
It's almost impossible to say with any certainty. Previous Trump tariff announcements have been paused, canceled, hiked or forgotten. Trump is expected to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this week — as will the leaders of France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland and other Nato members. In Greenland itself, protests that ramped up just before the tariff announcement on Saturday are likely to continue, with feeling strong in the Danish territory.
Read: Trump Mulls Tariffs for Nations Opposing Greenland Move
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