Trump announces tariffs against European nations unless U.S. can purchase Greenland

The United States testament impose increasing tariffs on several European countries until the U.S. Is able-bodied to purchase kalaallit nunaat, chair Donald ruff announced on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.

According to the post, 10 per cent tariffs targeting Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Finland will come into effect on Feb. 1. The tariffs will then increase to 25 per cent on June 1, Trump said, and won't abate unless the U.S. Gets the strategic Arctic island.

Trump again cited national and international security as his motivation, naming China and Russia as threats in the Arctic.

"It is imperative that, in order to protect Global Peace and Security, strong measures be taken so that this potentially perilous situation end quickly, and without question," he wrote.

The president has repeatedly said Greenland is vital to U.S. Security because of its strategic location and large mineral deposits, and he has not ruled out using force to take it. European nations this week sent military personnel to the island at Denmark's request.

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Trump's latest threat comes the same day that a bipartisan congressional delegation from the U.S. Travelled to Copenhagen to reassure Denmark and Greenland of their support.

Delegation leader Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said the current rhetoric around Greenland is causing concern across the Danish kingdom, and he wants to de-escalate the situation.

“I hope that the people of the Kingdom of Denmark do not abandon their faith in the American people,” Coons said in Copenhagen, adding that the U.S. Has respect for Denmark and NATO “for all we’ve done together."

He gave a news conference on Saturday ahead of rallies in Copenhagen and Nuuk, Greenland's capital, in support of the self-governing island.

Thousands of protesters gathered across Denmark in solidarity with Greenland, demanding that the United States respect Greenlanders' right to self-determination.

Demonstrators in the Danish capital chanted "Greenland is not for sale" and held up slogans such as "No Means No" and "Hands Off Greenland," alongside the territory's red-and-white flag, as they marched to the U.S. Embassy.

Some wore red baseball caps resembling the "Make America Great Again" caps of Trump supporters but with the slogan "Make America Go Away."

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In Nuuk, hundreds of protesters led by Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen carried flags and similar banners as they headed for the U.S. Consulate.

Coons' comments contrasted with those emanating from the White House. Trump has sought to justify his calls for a U.S. Takeover by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals.

The White House hasn’t ruled out taking the territory by force, but Coons said, "There are no current security threats to Greenland."

Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. Should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in U.S. Hands would be “unacceptable.”

During an unrelated event at the White House about rural health care on Friday, the president recounted how he had threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

“I may do that for Greenland, too," he said. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that."

Trump had not previously mentioned using tariffs to try to force the issue.

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Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

That encounter didn’t resolve the deep differences but did produce an agreement to set up a working group — on whose purpose Denmark and the White House then offered sharply diverging public views.

European leaders have insisted that only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning the territory, and Denmark said this week that it was increasing its military presence in Greenland in co-operation with allies.

“There is almost no better ally to the United States than Denmark,” Coons said. “If we do things that cause Danes to question whether we can be counted on as a NATO ally, why would any other country seek to be our ally or believe in our representations?"

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