President Donald Trump announced plans to slap new tariffs on imports from eight European nations starting February 1, 2026, in a surprise move that ties the penalties to his aim of getting the United States to buy Greenland.
Posting on Truth Social, he said Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland would be hit with a 10% tariff beginning Feb. 1, 2026. The rate would jump to 25% on June 1 and stay there until the U.S. reaches what he calls a “complete and total” Greenland purchase deal.
Trump framed the move as a national-security measure, arguing Greenland is strategically indispensable to U.S. defense planning and modern weapons systems. He claimed China and Russia want Greenland and Denmark can’t protect it. He scolded these eight countries for what he framed as risky involvement around Greenland while saying the United States remains open to negotiations.
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and its leadership has repeatedly said it is not for sale. Both Denmark and Greenland have resisted the U.S. pressure, emphasizing that decisions on Greenland’s future should be up to Greenlanders and Denmark, not Washington, AP News reported.
The tariff threat fits into a long-running thread in Trump’s public rhetoric. He said on Truth Social that the United States has sought Greenland for more than a century and a half, arguing that evolving security conditions make acquisition more urgent today.
It also opens up the possibility of a wider trade dispute with key European partners. The eight countries are all close U.S. allies, and several are NATO members that coordinate closely with Washington on defense and Arctic policy, AP noted.
According to the timing of Trump’s schedule, the initial tariff would kick in in about two weeks, while the higher rate comes due on June 1 unless negotiations produce an accord.
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