- President Trump announced a 10% tariff on several European countries starting Feb 1
- Tariffs will rise to 25% in June unless a deal is made for the full purchase of Greenland
- The tariff targets Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, UK, Netherlands, and Finland
President Donald Trump announced a 10% tariff on European countries rallying to Denmark's side in his pursuit of Greenland.
Trump threatened in a social media post to impose the tariff Feb. 1 and raise the tariff to 25% in June unless “a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
The tariffs will apply to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland, he said.
The explosive threat targets several of the top US allies and will further strain the NATO alliance, of which Denmark is a member.
It's not immediately clear what authority Trump would use, and how he would seek to apply individual new tariffs to EU member states, but he has relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act previously for similar threats.
His use of that authority is the basis of a landmark Supreme Court case, with a ruling expected soon. The court's ruling could upend Trump's threat; one alternative the administration has weighed, so-called Section 122 powers, are capped at 15% tariffs for 150 days.
Altogether, that raises questions about whether Trump will be able to enact the tariffs and for how long.
Trump's move follows a week of meetings in Washington by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen with top Trump administration figures and members of Congress, along with Greenland's foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, also participated.
Denmark and Greenland remain in a stalemate with the US over the future of the world's largest island, though officials this week agreed to set up a working group to manage the diplomatic dispute.
Denmark had invited NATO allies to take part in training activities in Greenland, with several European nations having now dispatched personnel to the island. The US is among those invited, according to a Danish military official.
Trump's tariff announcement on Saturday targeted nations that had announced they were sending a handful of troops to the island.
“These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable,” Trump wrote in his post. He added that the US is open to negotiations with Denmark
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