Trump Vows Greenland Tariffs Ahead EU Warns of Full Defense 2026
Donald Trump has said he will “100%” carry out his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on European allies that oppose his push for US control of Greenland, deepening the most serious rift in transatlantic relations in decades.
Greenland Tariffs
Speaking to NBC News on Monday, Trump refused to rule out the use of force to seize the Arctic island, replying “no comment” when asked directly. He confirmed that tariffs would be imposed on goods entering the United States from the UK and seven other NATO allied countries unless Denmark agrees to sell Greenland to Washington.
Under the plan outlined by the White House, a 10% tariff would be applied from 1 February, rising to 25% from 1 June. The countries targeted are the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, all members of NATO.
“I will, 100%,” Trump said when asked whether he would follow through. He added that Europe should focus on the war in Ukraine rather than Greenland, arguing that security concerns justified his stance.
European governments have responded with rare unity. Denmark has warned that any US military action in Greenland would effectively spell the end of NATO. In recent days, several European allies sent small troop contingents to Greenland as part of a reconnaissance mission, a move intended as a show of solidarity with Copenhagen. Trump responded by announcing the tariff threat.
Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said the president could not bully his way to ownership of the territory. “We have red lines that cannot be crossed,” he said. “You cannot threaten your way to ownership of Greenland. I have no intention of escalating this situation.”
The UK has echoed that position. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Greenland’s future was for “Greenlanders and the Danes alone” to decide. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also warned that tariffs against allies would be wrong, while stressing the importance of maintaining dialogue with Washington.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance would continue to work with Denmark and Greenland to safeguard Arctic security, seeking to calm tensions without conceding sovereignty.
The European Union has called an emergency summit of leaders in Brussels on Thursday to consider its response. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the bloc had no desire to pick a fight but would defend its ground. “Trade threats are not the way to go about this,” she said. “Sovereignty is not for trade.”
Adding to the controversy, Norwegian media published a text exchange between Trump and Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, in which the US president complained that he had been denied the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump claimed Norway controlled the award, an assertion Støre rejected, explaining that it is decided by an independent committee. Støre reaffirmed Norway’s support for Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland.
Trump later doubled down, insisting Norway did in fact control the prize and linking his frustration to a tougher view of global politics.
Read More: 2026 Crisis: Europe Hardens Against Trump’s Greenland Demands
Meanwhile, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD, announced that multiple aircraft were en route to Pituffik Space Base in Greenland as part of routine, long planned operations coordinated with Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities. Similar deployments have taken place in recent years.
The tariff threat has already unsettled markets in several of the affected countries, and European officials are weighing possible retaliation, including counter tariffs on US goods. For now, most governments say they want to de escalate, but the tone has hardened.
With Trump due to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, attention will focus on whether private diplomacy can defuse the crisis. European leaders are increasingly clear, however, that pressure on Greenland’s sovereignty and economic coercion against allies mark a line they are no longer willing to accept.
