Overview
- President Trump announced 10% duties starting Feb. 1 on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland, rising to 25% on June 1, tying them to a ‘full and absolute’ deal for U.S. control of Greenland with product scope still unspecified.
- EU officials, according to Financial Times reporting, are weighing a retaliatory tariff list of roughly €93 billion and potential use of the anti‑coercion instrument that could curb U.S. companies’ access to the EU market.
- European Council President António Costa has convened an extraordinary leaders’ meeting in the coming days as EU institutions stress solidarity with Denmark and Greenland and warn the U.S. move would damage transatlantic relations.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly backed the tariffs as a strategic decision, while Republican senators Tom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski criticized the plan as harmful to U.S. interests and NATO allies.
- Public pushback intensified in Europe with large demonstrations in Denmark and criticism from EU figures, while Greenlandic business leaders said the tariffs look designed to pressure NATO partners rather than directly target Greenland’s economy.