Transatlantic tensions flare as Trump threatens Greenland

All eyes are on Davos today, where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will take the main stage. This comes as transatlantic tensions over trade flare, with European industry protesting what it calls the “absurd demands” to hand over Greenland. At the same time, President Trump has linked his threat to acquire Greenland with this year’s failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Euronews reports.

According to the BBC, Trump’s announcement that he might impose tariffs on eight European countries if they do not support his plans to acquire Greenland has sent shockwaves across Europe.

The countries involved are France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Finland. If the EU does not ratify last year’s agreement or extend the suspension of measures, tariffs worth billions of euros on US goods could take effect on Feb. 7.

This could politically backfire on Trump in the United States, particularly among companies exporting to Europe.

Regarding Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on individual EU countries rather than the entire bloc, the European Commission said that, while technically possible, such measures would be extremely difficult to implement, given that goods often cross multiple EU borders before being exported to the US.

Commission spokesperson Olof Gill stated that Brussels will do “everything necessary to protect the EU’s economic interests,” but emphasized that, in the end, tariffs would only harm businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.