(Yahoo! Finance) - EU capitals have entered discussions to implement tariffs of up to $108 billion on American products after President Trump posted his plan to levy new tariffs on Europe on Saturday. Trump said the US would implement 10% tariffs on eight European countries he says are getting in the way of a US purchase of Greenland.
The tariffs would begin Feb. 1 and apply to "any and all goods sent to" the US. The levies on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland would be raised to 25% on June 1 if no agreement is in place.
"China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it. They currently have two dogsleds as protection, one added recently," Trump wrote. "Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!"
The countries — Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, Britain and Norway — are already subject to US tariffs between 10% and 15%.
"Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," the eight nations said in a joint statement Sunday.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen praised the consistent message from the rest of the continent, saying "Europe will not be blackmailed," a view echoed by Germany's finance minister and Sweden's prime minister.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press whether Trump’s stance toward Europe is a negotiating tactic. But Bessent seemed to indicate the president wouldn’t change his mind.
"Europeans project weakness, US projects strength," he said. "The president believes enhanced security is not possible without Greenland being part of the US."
On Saturday, protesters rallied in Denmark and Greenland, with thousands in Greenland's capital city of Nuuk chanting "Kalaallit Nunaat" — the island's name in Greenlandic — as they marched to the U.S. embassy.
Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court's first two opportunities to issue a verdict this year on the implications and legality of Trump's global duties on trade partners have come and gone without a decision.
The Trump administration made appeals to the court last year, and in recent weeks, Trump has frequently expressed concern over the ruling.
"If the Supreme Court rules against the United States of America on this National Security bonanza, WE’RE SCREWED!" he wrote on social media.
EU eyes tariffs on $108 billion of US goods over new Trump threat
The European Union is looking to impose tariffs on $108 billion of US goods after President Trump threatened to hit European countries with a 10% levy. Relations between the EU and the US started to unravel over the weekend as Trump continued his pursuit of Greenland. The US president said he would unleash 10% tariffs on goods from eight European countries starting from February 1, rising to 25% in June, unless a deal is struck on the "purchase of Greenland."
Trump issued the threat after the EU said it would undertake token NATO military planning exercises in the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
It's not just tariffs that the EU is looking to impose as its 27 countries met Sunday to discuss options; the union is also weighing additional countermeasures beyond the tariffs, but ultimately it will try to reach a diplomatic solution first.
Trump has been keen to purchase Greenland since he returned to office, saying it is for national security reasons and has said he will take the island the "easy way" or the "hard way".
Some believe that Greenland's natural resources, which include rare earth minerals, uranium and iron and the fact that it could have significant oil and gas reserves, are the main reasons for Trump's demands. Now that Trump has removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, his pursuit of Greenland has increased.
It's not just tariffs that the EU is looking to impose as its 27 countries met Sunday to discuss options; the union is also weighing additional countermeasures beyond the tariffs, but ultimately it will try to reach a diplomatic solution first.
Trump has been keen to purchase Greenland since he returned to office, saying it is for national security reasons and has said he will take the island the "easy way" or the "hard way".
Some believe that Greenland's natural resources, which include rare earth minerals, uranium and iron and the fact that it could have significant oil and gas reserves, are the main reasons for Trump's demands. Now that Trump has removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, his pursuit of Greenland has increased.
“President Trump has triggered an avalanche that threatens to destroy decades of transatlantic cooperation,” Stefan Lofven, president of the Party of European Socialists, said in a Sunday statement. The party, whose parliamentary group is the second largest in Brussels, supports suspending the trade agreement and called on the EU to examine using the anti-coercion instrument.
Trump says US will levy 10% tariff on most of Europe over quest to purchase Greenland
In a lengthy Truth Social post Saturday morning, President Trump said the US would impose 10% tariffs on eight European countries "until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland."
The tariffs would begin Feb. 1, the president wrote, and will apply to "any and all goods sent to" the US. The levies on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland would be raised to 25% on June 1 if no agreement is in place.
Trump alluded to the levies Friday during a roundtable event on healthcare, but did not offer specifics on which countries and how much. Germany, France, Sweden, and Norway have committed to sending military personnel to Greenland for what they called a reconnaissance mission. Greenland is an autonomous territory within Denmark, and the Danish foreign minister has said there is still "fundamental disagreement" with the US about control of Greenland.
But Trump has insisted that the US "needs" the island country to prevent expansion into the region by Russia and China. He repeated the claim on Saturday.
"World Peace is at stake! China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it. They currently have two dogsleds as protection, one added recently. Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!"
Reuters reported later Saturday that ambassadors from the EU's 27 countries would hold an emergency meeting on Sunday in light of Trump's latest remarks.
