France led calls for a coordinated European response, including the possible use of economic countermeasures never before activated by the EU.
According to International news agency Reuters, President Trump said on Saturday he would introduce escalating tariffs on Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, as well as Britain and Norway, unless the United States is allowed to purchase Greenland. The countries are already subject to US tariffs ranging from 10% to 15%.
The dispute has intensified after all eight countries sent limited numbers of military personnel to Greenland as part of a Danish-led exercise aimed at strengthening Arctic security. In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the eight nations said the deployment posed no threat and accused Washington of undermining cooperation.
“Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk triggering a dangerous downward spiral,” the statement said, adding that the countries remain open to dialogue based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen welcomed the unified European stance, saying, “Europe will not be blackmailed.” Similar remarks were made by Germany’s finance minister and Sweden’s prime minister. Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel described Trump’s approach as “blackmail” in a television interview.
Cyprus, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, convened an emergency meeting of ambassadors in Brussels on Sunday as European leaders intensified consultations.
A source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said France is pushing for the activation of the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument, a powerful trade tool that could restrict access to public procurement, investments, banking activities, or services trade — areas in which the United States runs a surplus with the EU, particularly digital services.
Support for this approach came from Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, Valerie Hayer, leader of the centrist Renew Europe group, and Germany’s engineering industry association.
However, some leaders urged caution. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said the EU should be prepared to retaliate if necessary but argued it was too early to deploy the anti-coercion mechanism.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who maintains closer ties with Trump than some other European leaders, called the tariff threat “a mistake,” saying she had spoken with the US president and believed he was open to listening. Italy has not deployed troops to Greenland.
In London, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Britain preferred cooperation over confrontation, stressing that the country’s position on Greenland was “non-negotiable.”
“It is in everyone’s interest to work together and avoid a war of words,” she told Sky News.
The tariff threats have cast doubt on recent US trade agreements with Britain and the EU, concluded in May and July respectively. These deals have already drawn criticism for favoring the United States by maintaining broad tariffs while requiring partners to lift import duties.
In response, the European Parliament is now expected to delay consideration of the EU-US trade agreement. A vote scheduled for January 26–27 on removing many EU import tariffs is likely to be postponed, according to Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party, the parliament’s largest group.
German lawmaker Juergen Hardt suggested an extreme measure, telling Bild newspaper that a boycott of the football World Cup being hosted by the United States later this year could be considered as a last resort to pressure Washington over Greenland.
Analysts say the dispute underscores growing tensions in transatlantic relations and highlights the difficulty of balancing security concerns, economic interests and diplomatic cooperation amid increasingly confrontational trade tactics.
