President Trump turned up pressure on Europe Saturday, announcing that he will slap a new 10% tariff on key allies unless Denmark agrees to its “complete and total purchase of Greenland.”
The president slammed Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany and the UK for having traveled “to Greenland, for purposes unknown” after they sent troops to boost island security following talks between Denmark, Greenland and the US. Trump added, in his post on Truth Social Saturday, that “Only the United States of America, under President Donald J. Trump, can play in this game.”
Trump also mocked Greenland’s defense as consisting of “two dogsleds as protection, one added recently.”
Beginning Feb. 1, the president said those countries “will be charged a 10% Tariff on any and all goods sent to the United States of America” until a deal is reached for the “Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
He threatened to hike the tariff even further – to 25% – on June 1 if there is still no deal for Greenland in place.
“This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” Trump wrote.
He already imposed a 15% tariff on French and German goods last year, while the UK faces an additional 10% tariff baseline following separate negotiations.
Trump warned the European countries are “playing this very dangerous game.”
Greenland acts as a self-governing territory of Denmark, which is part of NATO.
Trump has long argued that the world’s largest island — that isn’t a continent — is insufficiently defended and faces risks of incursion by China and Russia.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen posted Thursday that “Greenland is not for sale. Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed from the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”
The US Coast Guard helped set up Greenland’s dog sledge patrol in 1941 to hunt for Nazi weather stations and currently has a Space Force base on the island.
The latest European deployment, which appears to have infuriated the US president, includes 15 French soldiers taking part in a military exercise, with Germany saying it will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 and Denmark beefing up its own military deployment.
As part of the theatrical show of strength, Danish US-made F-35 fighters and French tankers conducted precision air-to-air refueling over Greenland, according to video release by Danish Defence Friday.
The exercise was an apparent demonstration of Denmark’s ability — along with its allies — to defend the territory.
The exercise was part of the multi-nation “Operation Arctic Endurance.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House Wednesday, said afterward that a “fundamental disagreement” remains.
The US Supreme Court is set to rule on whether Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs are constitutional.
