Donald Trump said he will hit European countries with fresh tariffs of 10 per cent from next month until they agree to support his ambition to acquire Greenland.
The US president said the new levies would apply to France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, and would rise to 25 per cent in June.
“We have subsidised Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them Tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday.
“Now, after Centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back — World Peace is at stake!”
The fresh tariffs threaten a sharp escalation of global tensions at a time of geopolitical instability, and come despite a recent string of trade deals struck between Washington and foreign capitals.
Trump has strengthened his rhetoric about wanting the Danish territory in recent weeks and has not ruled out using military force to take it, rattling European allies.
On Saturday morning, Trump said the fresh tariff would be payable “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland”.
“Many Presidents have tried, and for good reason, but Denmark has always refused,” Trump wrote.
“Now, because of The Golden Dome, and Modern Day Weapons Systems, both Offensive and Defensive, the need to ACQUIRE is especially important,” he added, referring to his plan to build a missile defence system for the US that would mimic Israel’s Iron Dome.
European Nato members, including Denmark, this week agreed to send troops to reinforce Greenland’s security.
“No intimidation or threat will influence us — neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on X.
“Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context.”
Trump’s fresh trade broadside came as thousands of Danes and Greenlanders gathered in more than 10 protests against the American threats to take control of the Arctic island.
Protesters in Denmark and Greenland held up the Greenlandic flag and vented their anger at Trump’s plans. “Our future is decided by us,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s prime minister, told the protest in Nuuk.
Those protests came after Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former head of Nato and ex-Danish prime minister, told the FT that Trump was talking like “gangsters” and using Greenland as a “weapon of mass distraction” from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Officials in Greenland, Norway and Denmark criticised Trump’s efforts to pressure allies using trade measures.
Aqqalu Jerimiassen, head of the Greenlandic party Atassut which is part of the government coalition, told TV2 that it was “childish” and “completely mindless”. He added: “It’s like a child at the table who is not allowed to have sweets.”
“We do not believe that the question of tariffs belongs in this context,” said Espen Barth Eide, Norway’s foreign minister.
Rasmus Jarlov, a former Danish minister and current MP, said: “Every insult, threat, tariff and lie that we receive strengthens our resolve. The answer from Denmark and Greenland is final: We will never hand over Greenland. We pray that our true allies will stand with us because we are going to need it.”
Analysts said Trump’s threat demonstrated that even striking a trade deal with the US, as UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer had done, was no protection from the president’s wrath.
“Starmer is looking incredibly exposed by Trump’s new tariff threat, as he has consistently touted the UK’s ‘superior’ trade deal as one justification for his government’s softer approach to this Administration,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group.
“It will make him look particularly foolish in the eyes of many European member states who view Trump as an unreliable partner.”
It was not clear what legal authority Trump would invoke to hit allies with tariffs, or whether the new levies would apply to goods that have been exempt from US tariffs under recent trade agreements.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
The US Supreme Court is expected to rule in coming weeks on the legality of the US president using emergency powers to swiftly impose tariffs on trading partners. A ruling against the US government could present a setback for Trump’s flagship economic policy and force Washington to roll back many of its existing tariffs.
Additional reporting by David Sheppard in London
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