Donald Trump has vowed to 100% follow through on his threat to impose tariffs on European countries who oppose his demands to take control of Greenland.
European allies have rallied around Greenland's sovereignty. Denmark's foreign minister emphasized the U.S. president cannot threaten his way to ownership of the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper reiterated the UK's position that the future of Greenland is for Greenlanders and for the Danes alone to decide.
On Monday, Trump declined to rule out the use of force and insisted he would press ahead with the threatened tariffs on goods arriving in the U.S. from the UK and seven other NATO-allied countries.
Asked by NBC News if he would use force to seize Greenland, Trump answered: No comment.
The U.S. president stated he would charge Britain a 10% tariff on any and all goods sent to the U.S. from February 1, increasing to 25% from June 1, until a deal is reached for Washington to purchase Greenland from Denmark.
Trump said the same would apply to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland. When asked if he would follow through on the tariff threat, he replied: I will, 100%.
Trump urged Europe to focus on the war with Russia and Ukraine, saying: That's what Europe should focus on - not Greenland.
Denmark warned that U.S. military action in Greenland could potentially end NATO. In response, European members have supported Greenland, with some deploying troops recently.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stated that Europe needs to show Trump that tariff threats are not the way forward, adding, You can't threaten your way to ownership of Greenland.
A scheduled emergency EU summit in Brussels will address Trump's Greenland tariff threat.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas commented that sovereignty is not for trade and emphasized that the bloc has no interest in escalating the situation.
