Trump’s tariff threat is an attempt to divide Europe and quash opposition over Greenland

 

Analysis

Trump’s tariff threat is an attempt to divide Europe and quash opposition over Greenland

Lisa O’Carroll

Senior correspondent, international trade

Using one of his favourite weapons to win an argument, the US president underlines the unstable nature of any deal he makes

 

Sat 17 Jan 2026 21.07 GMT

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/17/trumps-tariff-threat-is-an-attempt-to-divide-europe-and-quash-opposition-over-greenland

 

Donald Trump’s threat to impose fresh tariffs on eight European countries – UK, Norway and six EU member states – is a wrecking ball to the carefully stitched deals he concluded with those countries last summer.

 

The two biggest voting blocs in the European parliament, the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Socialists & Democrats (S&Ds), said on Saturday night the deal with the EU cannot be approved in the present circumstances.

 

Trump’s threat also disregards the fact that individual member states do not have individual trade deals with the US. All EU international trade deals are conducted centrally through Brussels, as was the case last summer.

 

The EU-US trade deal was agreed under considerable pressure from Trump at his Scottish golf course last July. However, while it has entered into force in the US, the 0% tariffs promised to the US have yet to be legally ratified in the EU.

 

“The EPP is in favour of the EU-US trade deal, but given Donald Trump’s threats regarding Greenland, approval is not possible at this stage,” said Manfred Weber, the leader of the EPP. “The 0% tariffs on US products must be put on hold.”

 

Kathleen Van Brempt, vice-president for trade for the S&Ds, said there could be “no trade deal under [the] given circumstances”.

 

Later on Saturday, the liberal voting bloc Renew said it would join attempts to halt the ratification of the US trade deal.

 

The UK’s trade deal, as it was described last May, is already in force, but applies to a limited number of products – cars, beef, aerospace, ethanol and steel – with a 10% tariff deal on other exports ranging from salmon to bone china.

 

Both the EU and the UK are in the middle of sensitive negotiations to reduce tariffs Trump has already imposed, particularly on steel, which are rated at 25% for British exports and 50% for EU products.

 

The latest threat will be seen as another attempt by a man – sometimes ally, sometimes adversary – desperate to win an argument, using one of his favourite weapons. It will also be seen as an attempt to divide Europe and quash their opposition to his Greenland takeover ambition.

 

Saturday’s threat underlines the unstable nature of any deal with Trump but also seems to have fired up the EU, which many have considered weak in the face of multiple episodes of bullying by the US.

 

An emergency meeting of EU ambassadors is expected on Sunday.

 

Late last year the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, warned there would be no deal on reducing steel tariffs unless the EU rolled back on tech laws. This is despite the EU and the US’s common interest in forming a club to fight cheaper Chinese imports.

 

The EU has consistently pushed back on any attempt to link tech with tariffs, and in particular to revise a €120m fine on Elon Musk’s X. It is unlikely to do anything other than issue a further statement on Saturday reiterating its right and strong intention to defend its sovereignty.

 

Mikkel Runge Olesen, senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said Trump’s latest threat was a sign that Europe’s opposition to his threat to takeover Greenland was working.

 

“I think it is a reaction to the European troops going to Greenland, because if you look at the tariffs they match the countries who sent troops,” he told Sky News.

 

“We are never going to see American troops on the ground in Greenland, this is a negotiating tactic.”