{"id":20866,"date":"2026-01-20T08:48:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:48:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/2026\/01\/20\/europe-warns-of-dangerous-downward-spiral-after-trump-threatens-tariffs-over-greenland\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T08:48:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:48:59","slug":"europe-warns-of-dangerous-downward-spiral-after-trump-threatens-tariffs-over-greenland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/2026\/01\/20\/europe-warns-of-dangerous-downward-spiral-after-trump-threatens-tariffs-over-greenland\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe warns of \u2018dangerous downward spiral\u2019 after Trump threatens tariffs over Greenland"},"content":{"rendered":"

US-EU Relations Hit a New Low as Trump Threatens Tariffs Over Greenland<\/h1>\n

BERLIN \u2014 The eight European countries targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump for a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland blasted the move Sunday, warning that his threats \u201cundermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.\u201d<\/p>\n

The joint statement by some of America\u2019s closest allies signaled a possible turning point in the recent tensions over sovereignty and security nearly 24 hours after Trump\u2019s threat.<\/p>\n

It was also the most forceful rebuke of Trump from the European allies since he returned to the White House almost a year ago.<\/p>\n

In recent months, Europeans have mostly opted for diplomacy and flattery around him, even when seeking an end to the war in Ukraine. Sunday\u2019s statement, as well as some European countries sending troops to Greenland for a Danish military training exercise, appeared to be a step away from that strategy.<\/p>\n

The unusually strong joint statement from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland said troops sent to Greenland for operation \u201cArctic Endurance\u201d pose \u201cno threat to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danish Foreign Minister Lars L\u00f8kke Rasmussen told reporters in Oslo that a dialogue was opened with the U.S. last week and \u201cwe will not give up on that…. So we will stay on track \u2014 unless U.S. decides differently.”<\/p>\n

Added Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide at the same news conference: \u201cWe will not allow ourselves to be put under pressure, and those types of threats (of U.S. tariffs) are unacceptable between close allies,\u201d<\/p>\n

Background of the Conflict<\/h2>\n

Six of the countries targeted are part of the 27-member European Union, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trade.<\/p>\n

Following emergency talks among the EU\u2019s national envoys Sunday, EU Council President Antonio Costa said the bloc\u2019s leaders agree \u201cthat tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and are incompatible with the EU-U.S. trade agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

They expressed \u201creadiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion,\u201d Costa said in a statement. He is expected to convene a summit of the bloc\u2019s leaders later this week.<\/p>\n

The deployment to Greenland of small numbers of troops by some European countries was misunderstood by Washington, according to Italy\u2019s right-wing premier, Giorgia Meloni. Meloni said it was not a move against the U.S. but aimed to provide security against \u201cother actors\u201d that she didn\u2019t identify.<\/p>\n

Solidarity with Denmark and Greenland<\/h2>\n

Trump\u2019s Saturday announcement sets up a potentially dangerous test of U.S. partnerships in Europe. He appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks over the status of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that he regards as critical to U.S. national security.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland,\u201d the group said. \u201cBuilding on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are immediate questions about how the White House could implement tariffs against the EU. It was unclear, too, how Trump could act under U.S. law, though he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently subject to a U.S. Supreme Court challenge.<\/p>\n

\"Exterior<\/p>\n

International Reactions<\/h2>\n

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from divisions between the U.S. and Europe. She added on social media: \u201cIf Greenland\u2019s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO..\u201d<\/p>\n

Europe has been trying to keep Trump on its side to ensure U.S. support for Ukraine, including Washington sharing intelligence with Kyiv and its involvement in security guarantees if a peace agreement is reached with Russia.<\/p>\n

Rasmus S\u00f8ndergaard, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, called Trump\u2019s announcement \u201cunprecedented\u201d because tariff threats normally stem from trade disagreements, not territorial disputes between allies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s of course why we\u2019re seeing the response from European countries saying \u2019enough is enough,\u2019\u201d he told The Associated Press. \u201cI think there\u2019s in part probably a strategic calculation, of course, from the governments in these countries that if you give in to Trump on this, what will be the next thing? And at some point you have to sort of push back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FILE<\/p>\n

Domestic Reactions<\/h2>\n

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, said Trump\u2019s threatened tariffs on U.S. allies would make Americans \u201cpay more to try to get territory we don\u2019t need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTroops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,\u201d Kelly said on social media. \u201cThe damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn\u2019t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said he supports the United States ultimately owning Greenland, but not how Trump is trying to accomplish it.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s Populist Allies Criticize the Tariff Threat<\/h2>\n

The tariff announcement also drew blowback from Trump\u2019s populist allies in Europe.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s right-wing premier, Giorgia Meloni, considered one of Trump\u2019s closest allies on the continent, said she had spoken to him about the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US-EU Relations Hit a New Low as Trump Threatens Tariffs Over Greenland BERLIN \u2014 The eight European countries targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump for a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland blasted the move Sunday, warning that his threats \u201cundermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.\u201d The joint statement by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":20868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20866","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/KQF5WY7YTRGOBPZHO3TG2I273M.jpg?auth=248a93b958ad8d4898f5722c74036c607e154aa438eb183dfbe73421879b2705&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&smart=true","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20866"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20866"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20869,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20866\/revisions\/20869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}