Trump turns Greenland into a trade weapon against Europe

The question of how far Europe can tolerate Donald Trump is no longer theoretical. With a single post on Truth Social, the U.S. president has imposed new 10 per cent tariffs on imports from eight Nato allies, explicitly tying the measures to their support for Greenland’s defence. 

The mood across Europe is hardening. In recent days, the question circulating in diplomatic and political circles has been blunt: is it “time to drop Trump?”

Tariffs by Truth Social decree

Trump’s decision, announced via his Truth Social account, leaves little room for doubt about the driving logic. Greenland’s security is not the real issue. As with his past rhetoric on Venezuela or drug trafficking, the language of security masks a narrower interest: control over resources, notably oil and rare earths.

If defence were truly the priority, NATO allies offering to shoulder part of the burden would be welcomed. For Washington, that would mean lower costs and shared responsibility. Instead, those allies are being punished.

Under Trump’s plan, the additional tariffs will apply from 1 February and rise to 25 per cent from 1 June unless there is a “complete and total purchase of Greenland by the United States”, the Truth Social decree said. 

The eight countries targeted are Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands. All are involved in military exercises linked to Greenland, largely symbolic but politically significant. Their message has been consistent: Greenland is not for sale.

It is another calculated blow to the Atlantic alliance, which Trump continues to portray as a liability rather than a strategic asset.

Legal doubts and public backlash

The measures add to a growing list of tariffs imposed on shifting and often contested legal grounds. Many are under challenge under both international trade rules and U.S. law, with the U.S. Supreme Court expected to rule soon on their legality.

The announcement followed large demonstrations in Copenhagen and in Nuuk, where thousands rallied in defence of Greenlandic sovereignty. With just 57,000 inhabitants, the turnout in Nuuk amounted to nearly one in ten residents. Greenland is larger than a fifth of the United States and bigger than Alaska, yet Alaska alone has roughly fifteen times the population.

Trump’s escalation landed as a U.S. congressional delegation visiting Denmark was attempting to defuse tensions. 

Lawmakers stressed that Trump’s push does not reflect a national consensus. Among them was Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, a vocal critic of the president, who accused advisers close to Trump of indulging predatory instincts and confirmed that legislation had been introduced to block any U.S. military action against the island.

Europe pushes back

European leaders have voiced growing concern. Expressions of relief in countries not yet targeted, such as Italy, have been met with quiet irritation in Brussels. Any hit to major European economies inevitably reverberates across the bloc, given deep trade and supply chain interdependence, particularly with France and Germany.

From Asunción, Paraguay, where the EU Mercosur agreement was signed, Ursula von der Leyen and António Costaissued a joint statement pledging that Europe would defend international law and respond firmly to the new tariffs.

In Brussels, European Parliament sources warn that Trump’s move now jeopardises the fragile U.S.–EU tariff understanding reached last summer and still awaiting finalisation. For many in Europe, the episode confirms a broader conclusion: trade coercion has become a tool of territorial ambition, and the transatlantic relationship is entering uncharted territory.

Image Credit: Reuters. (2025, June 25). U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands. Heute.at. https://www.heute.at/i/nato-gipfel-trump-droht-spanien-mit-zoellen-120116027/doc-1iulf7erc0