Over Greenland
\nBritish PM Starmer says his country would raise issue directly with Washington
\n Washington
\nUS President Donald Trump on Saturday vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the Washington is allowed to buy Greenland, escalating a row over the future of Denmark\u2019s vast Arctic island.
\nIn a post on Truth Social, Trump said that an additional 10% import tariffs would take effect on February 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Great Britain \u2014 all already subject to tariffs imposed by Trump.
\nThose tariffs would increase to 25% on June 1 and would continue until a deal was reached for the US to purchase Greenland, Trump wrote.
\nTrump has repeatedly insisted he will settle for nothing less than ownership of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. Leaders of both Denmark and Greenland have insisted the island is not for sale and does not want to be part of the US.
\nSecurity, minerals
\nThe president has repeatedly said Greenland is vital to US security because of its strategic location and large mineral deposits, and has not ruled out using force to take it. European nations this week sent military personnel to the island at Denmark\u2019s request.
\n\u201cThese Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable,\u201d Trump wrote.
\nProtesters in Denmark and Greenland demonstrated on Saturday against Trump\u2019s demands and called for the territory to be left to determine its own future.
\nThe countries named by Trump on Saturday have backed Denmark, warning that the US military seizure of a territory in NATO could collapse the military alliance that Washington leads.
\n\u201cThe president\u2019s announcement comes as a surprise,\u201d Denmark\u2019s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement.
\nBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer was unusually blunt in condemning Trump\u2019s threat, saying on X that his country would raise the issue directly with Washington.
\n\u201cApplying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of Nato allies is completely wrong,\u201d Starmer said.
\nEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa said in separate but identical posts on X that the European Union stood in \u201cfull solidarity\u201d with Denmark and Greenland.
\n\u201cTariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty,\u201d they said.
\nOfficials from Norway, Sweden, France and Germany reiterated support for Denmark on Saturday and said tariffs should not be part of Greenland discussions.
\nCyprus, which currently holds the EU presidency, said it has called for an emergency meeting of ambassadors from the union\u2019s 27 countries on Sunday.
\nTrade deals under threat?
\nSaturday\u2019s threat could derail tentative deals Trump struck last year with the European Union and Great Britain. The deals included baseline levies of 15% on imports from Europe and 10% on most British goods.
\n\u201cThe biggest danger, it seems to me, is his decision to treat some EU countries differently from others,\u201d said William Reinsch, a trade expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. \u201cI\u2019m not surprised [\u2026.] It may well convince the European Parliament that it is pointless to approve the trade agreement with the US, since Trump is already bypassing it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over Greenland British PM Starmer says his country would raise issue directly with Washington Washington US President Donald Trump on Saturday vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the Washington is allowed to buy Greenland, escalating a row over the future of Denmark\u2019s vast Arctic island. In a post on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526428,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-526402","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n