Calls are growing louder for the European Union to deploy its trade bazooka against the United States after President Trump said he would impose fresh tariffs on Denmark and its European allies until it agrees to sell Greenland in an unprecedented escalation.
European leaders are coordinating their next move after the Trump administration threatened to slap a new 10% tariff on all products coming from eight European countries including Denmark, Germany and France, and suggested more retaliatory measures could follow until a deal is reached for the “complete and total purchase of Greenland.”
Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark.
On Sunday, the eight countries led by Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom said “tariff threats undermine the transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral” in a joint statement.
They also reiterated their “full solidarity” to Denmark and doubled down on their efforts to reinforce security in the Arctic saying a joint exploration mission of European forces, which has drawn the ire of the White House, does “not pose a threat to anyone.”
Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who did not participate in the joint mission to the Arctic and has remained on the sidelines about Greenland, told reporters on Sunday that Trump’s tariff threat is “an error” and suggested a case of miscommunication within NATO, of which both Washington and Copenhagen are members.
Meloni said she had spoken to the US President over the phone on Sunday.
Still, calls are growing for the EU to deploy its ultimate anti-coercion tool against the US if the White House makes good on its threat to slap fresh tariffs starting February 1 as EU ambassadors prepare to hold an extraordinary meeting at 5pm on Sunday.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to request the EU explores all available tools, including the bloc’s anti-coertion tool in response to what Paris considers an unacceptable threat from the US, according to a source close to the Élysée.
The anti-coercion instrument adopted in 2023 to combat political blackmail through trade would allow the EU to restrict third countries from participating in public procurement tenders, limit trade licenses and shut off access to the single market.
The tool has never been used and, while it would severely impact US services and products, it could also come with geopolitical ramifications.
Europeans switch tone after failed appeasement strategy
The latest spat calls into question the European strategy of appeasement when it comes to Trump which has guided the EU Commission and the 27 member states until now.
Last summer, the EU and the US signed a deal which tripled duties on European products to 15% while lowering tariffs to zero on US industrial goods.
The Commission was accused of perpetuating a moment of “humiliation for Europe” and former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who is one of the most influential voices in European diplomatic circles, said the EU had come out weaker as a result.
At the time, Brussels indicated that the deal, which put in place major concessions in favour of Washington, was the price to pay for US engagement in Ukraine and global stability. Commission president von der Leyen said the deal, even if vilified, had provided much needed clarity for businesses and helped ease transatlantic tensions.
Trump’s latest threat shows the deal has done little to provide either and suggests Europeans will have to consider retaliatory measures after favouring a policy of de-escalation. And the tone is now switching.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, a close ally of Denmark, said on Saturday that the bloc would not allow itself “to be blackmailed” in one of the most severe statements to date. France’s Macron said the EU would not be intimidated by threats.
The bellicose language around Greenland has also united all major, pro-European political forces in the European Parliament, highlighting the gravity of the moment.
The European People’s Party, the conservative group which dominates the hemicycle, the Socialists and the liberals of Renew agreed they would reject the implementation of the US-EU deal cutting tariffs on American industrial goods until Trump changes course.
Former EU Commissioners Paolo Gentiloni and Cecilia Malmstrom, the brains behind the anti-coercion instrument during her tenure as trade chief under the first von der Leyen Commission, said the EU should deploy countermeasures next.
“It is getting ridiculous this constant threat of tariffs. Time for Europe to stand up. There are counter measures, including the anti-coercion tool. Greenland is not for sale,” she said in a social media post on X.
