President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on NATO allies over their opposition of American control over Greenland has sparked an immediate backlash.
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson all released statements after Trump promised to impose tariffs on their countries should they not give him the Greenlight to claim the Danish territory.
The three condemned the threat, with Kristersson writing that Trump was attempting to blackmail the nations.
The three countries, alongside Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands will all face a 10 percent levy on ‘any and all goods’ entering the US from February 1, Trump said on Saturday.
In a post to his X Macron fired back at Trump saying a united response from the eight would follow should the tariffs come to fruition.
Macron also mentioned his commitment to supporting Ukraine in his post in which he promised to uphold the ‘sovereignty and independence of Nations’ around the world.
He said: ‘No intimidation nor threat will influence us, neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations.
‘Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context. Europeans will respond to them in a united and coordinated manner if they were to be confirmed.
‘We will know how to uphold European sovereignty.’
Trump has frequently went after his NATO allies on spending over the years with his post saying the US had ‘subsidized all of the European Union’ over the years. He said that if no deal was reached by June 1, the tariff will increase to 25 percent.
Macron fired back at Trump saying a united response from the eight would follow should the tariffs come to fruition
Trump announced on Saturday morning that eight European countries would face tariffs if they didn’t agree to let him take Greenland
Like Macron, Kristersson had some strong words for the commander-in-chief, accusing him of blackmail.
In a post to X, he said: ‘We will not let ourselves be blackmailed. Only Denmark and Greenland decide on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland.
‘I will always stand up for my country, and for our allied neighbors. This is an EU issue that affects many more countries than those now being singled out.
‘Sweden is now having intensive discussions with other EU countries, Norway, and the United Kingdom for a coordinated response.’
Starmer said the move by Trump was wrong, adding: ‘Our position on Greenland is very clear – it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes
‘We have also made clear that Arctic Security matters for the whole of Nato and allies should all do more together to address the threat from Russia across different parts of the Arctic.
‘Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of Nato allies is completely wrong. We will of course be pursuing this directly with the US administration.’
In a joint letter both Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen, the leaders of the European Council and European Commission, warned the tariffs ‘risk a dangerous downward spiral’.
They said: ‘Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law.’
NATO countries are required to hand over 2 percent of their GDP, with the US forming the backbone of the alliances spending.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the move by Trump was wrong in a statement on Saturday
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson claimed Trump was attempting to blackmail the countries
In 2025, the combined military spending of NATO states reached approximately 1.5 trillion dollars, with the US alone accounting for over 900 billion dollars of that total.
NATO members were previously expected to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense, a number Trump had long argued should be higher, leading to a new 5% target by 2035 being agreed upon at last year’s NATO Summit.
In military power, NATO as a whole dominates Russia. As of 2025, the alliance had around 3.5 million active military personnel compared with Russia’s 1.32 million.
NATO countries collectively have more than 22,000 aircrafts compared to Russia’s 4,292, as well as 1,143 military ships compared with their 400.
The president, who referred to himself as ‘the tariff king,’ called on Denmark to relinquish the mineral-rich territory by claiming world peace is at stake on Saturday.
‘Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!’ Trump wrote.
‘Nobody will touch this sacred piece of Land, especially since the National Security of the United States, and the World at large, is at stake.’
Trump said that the eight countries had been targeted in direct response to them sending troops to Greenland in the last few days.
The president added that ‘on top of everything else’ the eight countries ‘have journeyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown.’
‘This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet. These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable,’ Trump wrote.
‘Therefore, it is imperative that, in order to protect Global Peace and Security, strong measures be taken so that this potentially perilous situation end quickly, and without question.’
The president has invoked tariffs largely under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
His administration’s use of the act has been challenged repeatedly and several courts have found his use of it unlawful.
The Supreme Court is expected to deliver a ruling soon on the legality of his IEEPA tariffs. He said on Friday that if he lost the case it would severely impact his agenda.
Trump speaks during an event to promote investment in rural health care in the East Room of the White House on January 16, 2026
Nations including France, Germany and Sweden have deployed a small number of troops to the territory in response to Trumps rhetoric in the last few days.
That mission, named Operation Arctic Endurance, was stepped up on Friday with Danish F-35 fighter jets conducting training over southeast Greenland.
A French MRTT tanker also conducted air-to-air refueling after departing its base in southern France, where it returned after completing the training.
On Friday he had threatened to slap tariffs on, ‘countries that don’t go along with Greenland’ on Friday, and added that the US may back out of NATO if the acquisition wasn’t agreed.
Trump claims his fixation with acquiring the territory is a matter of US national security.
He said: ‘We need Greenland for national security very badly. If we don’t have it we have a very big hole in terms of national security, especially in terms of the Golden Dome.’
The Golden Dome is a proposed multi-layer missile defense system which the president says is reliant on seizing control of Denmark’s Arctic territory.
