Trump threatens 10% tariff on Denmark, UK, France for opposing Greenland plan

Washington DC, Jan 18: S President Donald Trump on Saturday declared that he would charge a 10 per cent tariff on European countries because of their opposition to America’s Greenland takeover. Countries like Denmark, the UK, France, and other EU countries will be hit with US tariffs from February 1.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that the tariffs would be raised to 25 per cent on June 1 if a deal is not reached for “the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the United States.

The decision comes a day after Trump warned that he could impose tariffs on countries that do not support his Greenland plans.

European leaders have said that it’s only for Denmark and Greenland to decide on matters concerning the territory, and Denmark said this week that it was increasing its military presence in Greenland in cooperation with allies.

The White House has said Trump’s aim to take over Greenland would not be affected by the European military presence, which French Armed Forces Minister Alice Rufo said was a sign that the continent was prepared to defend sovereignty.

Trump has been insisting for quite a while now that the US needs the mineral-rich Greenland for its “national security”. Earlier this week he said that anything less than Greenland being in US hands is “unacceptable”. The Republican leader has justified his calls for a takeover by saying that it is to prevent the territory from being occupied by China and Russia.

On Wednesday, after a meeting in Washington, Danish representatives said Copenhagen and Washington were in “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland’s future.

Thousands of people marched through Copenhagen on Saturday to protest in support of their own self-governance amid threats of US takeover. Protesters carried signs such as “We shape our future”, “Greenland is not for sale” and “Greenland is already GREAT”.

Denmark’s foreign minister on Thursday ruled out any US acquisition of Greenland, after the White House said a European military mission to the Arctic island had no effect on Donald Trump’s territorial ambitions. Lars Lokke Rasmussen said, “This is out of the question. It’s not what we want in Denmark, nor in Greenland and it runs counter to all international rules. It infringes on sovereignty.”

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said on Tuesday that “if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU.”