EU response to US Greenland bid and tariff

European Union’s top official on Tuesday described U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned new tariffs over Greenland as a “mistake” between long-standing allies and called into question Trump’s trustworthiness, while French President Emmanuel Macron said the situation could push the EU to deploy one of the its most powerful tools of retaliation.
While the fur or over Trump’s desire for control of the vast Arctic island was a focus of an elite annual meeting in Switzerland, Greenland’s leader insisted on respect for its territorial integrity and said that respect for international law is “not a game.”
Macron warned in Davos that the additional tariffs could force the EU to use its anti-coercion mechanism “for the very first time” against the United States.
“Can you imagine that?” he said, arguing that allied countries should be focusing on bringing peace to Ukraine. “This is crazy.”
In general, he said, the mechanism “is a powerful instrument and we should not hesitate to deploy it in today’s tough environment.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushed back against Trump’s announcement that starting February, a 10% import tax will be imposed on goods from eight European nations that have rallied around Denmark in the wake of his escalating calls for the United States to take over Greenland. The Arctic island is a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.
“The European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July,” von der Leyen said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “And in politics as in business – a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.”
“We consider the people of the United States not just our allies, but our friends. And plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape,” she added.
She vowed that the EU’s response “will be unflinching, united and proportional.”
American leader’s threats have sparked outrage and a flurry of diplomatic activity across Europe, as leaders consider possible countermeasures, including retaliatory tariffs and the first-ever use of the European Union’s anti-coercion instrument.
Unofficially known as the “trade bazooka,” the anti-coercion instrument could sanction individuals or institutions found to be putting undue pressure on the EU. In addition, the EU has two other major economic tools it could use to pressure Washington: new tariffs, or a suspension of the U.S.-EU trade deal.
Trump earlier posted a text message from Macron in which the French president suggested a meeting of members of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies in Paris after the Davos gathering.
An official close to Macron, who spoke anonymously in line with the French presidency’s customary practices, confirmed the message shared by Trump is genuine.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen insisted at a news conference in the island’s capital, Nuuk, that “we need to have respect for international law and territorial integrity.”
He said those principles should unite Western democratic countries, and said he was grateful for support from EU allies.