Britain’s Prime Minister has taken a firm stand against Donald Trump’s threat to impose trade tariffs on eight European allies over Greenland, stating that the US President’s action had gone down “very badly”.
Keir Starmer addressed the nation at a hastily organised press conference as EU countries consider several options to respond to Mr Trump's threat of a 10 per cent tariff increase unless a deal is reached for the “purchase of Greenland".
France has pushed for what has been described as the "trade bazooka" – the nickname of a powerful anti-coercion instrument that has never been used by the EU.
A less aggressive option under discussion among EU officials is to impose tariffs on €93 billion ($108 billion) of US goods if Mr Trump follows through.
In what could well become the biggest crisis in transatlantic relations in decades, Mr Starmer, who has built a good working relationship with Mr Trump, stressed the need to avoid a trade war but also called the president’s actions on Greenland “completely wrong”.
“Threatening tariffs on allies is the wrong thing to do,” he told the press in Downing Street on Monday. “A trade war is not in our interests … and the consequences of that will be very serious for our country.”
In a brief telephone interview with NBC News on Monday, Mr Trump was asked if he would follow through on plans to hit the European nations with tariffs if a Greenland deal is not done. “I will, 100 per cent," he said.
Escalating row
The row has escalated since Mr Trump used a social media post on Saturday to threaten extra tariffs on European countries that had have opposed the White House’s plan to annex the self-governing territory, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark. The countries are Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.
Mr Starmer was unequivocal in his defence of Denmark. He said the country was “a proud Nato member” and said the alliance was built on “respect and partnership, not pressure”.
“That is why the use of tariffs against allies is completely wrong. It is not the right way to resolve differences within an alliance,” he added.
The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenland and Denmark alone, he said, adding that he did not believe Mr Trump was “genuinely considering” military action against the mineral-rich island.
Last week, a number of Nato countries, including Germany, France and Britain, deployed troops to Greenland. Mr Starmer said he had clarified in a phone call to Mr Trump on Sunday that they were there to protect it against Russian threats.
He also mentioned critical continuing events in the Middle East, including Gaza, and stressed that “in today’s world, geopolitics is not something that happens somewhere else”.
The Prime Minister had “gone as far as he can” in terms of rebuking Mr Trump, said the Labour insider Emma Burnell. “We're just not going to go to war with America.”
The editor of LabourList told The National that Mr Starmer had toned down talk of a trade war while acting as a liaison between Europe and the US.
“It’s accepted that Starmer has put himself into that position pretty skilfully, the problem is that we live in a world where everyone wants to shout at Donald Trump.”
However, she warned that Britain and Europe were now coming to terms with the point that they “do not live in a world any more where America is a reliable ally”.
Anti-coercion instrument
At an earlier press conference in Berlin, Germany’s Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil warned that the “limits have now been reached” on the “threat to Greenland’s integrity and sovereignty”.
“There is a legally established European toolbox that can respond to economic blackmail with very sensitive measures, and we should now examine the use of these measures,” Mr Klingbeil said.
Speaking alongside him, his French counterpart Roland Lescure said there were two options. One is a package of tariffs on €93 billion of US imports that could automatically kick in on February 6 after a six-month suspension. The second is the anti-coercion instrument, considered a nuclear option that the EU can use as a bloc to impose trade countermeasures.
The mechanism could limit access to public tenders, investments or banking activity or restrict trade in services, in which the US has a surplus with the bloc, including in digital services.
“Will this have an impact on the European economy? Obviously,” said Mr Lescure. “We regret this potential escalation and we will do everything we can to avoid it, but unfortunately it's possible we may be forced to make decisions that benefit no one.”
"It's all a matter of timing," a European diplomat told The National. "We can wait until February 1 and use the time to find a diplomatic solution."
EU and Nato officials are expected to make their case directly to Mr Trump's advisers at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday before EU leaders meet in Brussels for an emergency summit later this week.
Greenlanders have also voiced their opposition to an annexation by the US. Crowds gathered in protest in Nuuk over the weekend holding banners that read “Greenland is not for sale”.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is closer to the US President than some other EU leaders, described the tariff threat on Sunday as “a mistake”, adding she had spoken to Mr Trump a few hours earlier and told him what she thought.
In a letter Mr Trump sent to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, he also linked his claims on Greenland to being overlooked for the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded by an independent body.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” he wrote. “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland,” Mr Trump added.
