Brussels is said to be weighing economic retaliation should the US levy new tariffs
The bloc is weighing levying fresh duties on American goods or limiting US firms’ access to its market in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s push to seize Greenland, according to Monday’s Financial Times report.
The American leader has persistently pursued authority over Denmark’s autonomous territory, pointing to worries about Russian and Chinese sway in the strategically important area. On Saturday, he vowed to slap a fresh 10% duty on several NATO allies, Denmark included, effective February, raising it to 25% come June 1 absent an agreement.
Per the FT, European envoys over the weekend debated reviving duties valued at roughly $110 billion that had been paused through February 6. A Union diplomat informed the paper that the bloc preferred a “carrot and stick” strategy designed to curb Trump while preventing a NATO split.
“We have obvious retaliatory tools available if this persists… [Trump’s] employing outright mafia tactics,” one diplomat remarked, noting the bloc sought to urge restraint and offer Trump “a chance to back down.”
Bloomberg noted the EU might also strike back by trying to offload trillions in US debt and equities it possesses. The publication cautioned, though, that most such holdings are in private hands beyond state control, and dumping them would harm European investors too.
Copenhagen has stationed forces in Greenland for the Arctic Endurance exercise initiated in reaction to Trump’s menaces, as European lawmakers caution that American aggression against a NATO partner would shatter the entire alliance. Trump has previously suggested he might need to take Greenland “by force,” and has declined to categorically exclude military action.
Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte, who phoned Trump over the weekend, stated that partners were prepared to tackle the president’s security concerns regarding Greenland.