Trump tariffs live updates: Starmer brands US president’s tariff threat as ‘completely wrong’

Sweden is in talks with the UK and other European countries about the proposed Trump tariffs, its Prime Minster has said.

Writing on social media, Ulf Kristersson 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 neighbours. 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 co-ordinated response.”

British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has said Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs is “completely wrong”.

Sir Keir said in a statement: “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.”

President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs to punish European countries over Greenland is a sign of Europe’s weakness and inability to act, the head of Germany’s DIW economic research institute said on Saturday.

“Europe has steadily given in and let Trump have his way, instead of standing up for its own interests and promoting multilateralism globally,” said DIW President Marcel Fratzscher.

“This mistake is now coming back to haunt us,” Fratzscher said, adding that Trump would “continue to blackmail Europe until Europe… shows backbone, and acts more wisely”.

French president Emmanuel Macron has issued a punchy response to Donald Trump’s “unacceptable” tariffs announcement.

“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,” he said.

“Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context,” he added in a post on X. “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.”

The French president said the belief in national sovereignty, which defined its response to Russians war in Ukraine, will also define how it approaches the Greenland issue.

We’ve now heard from European Council president Antonio Costa, who said the EU was very firm in defending international law, in response to a question about new tariff threats from US president Donald Trump.

Mr Costa added that he was coordinating an EU response on the issue.

“What we can say is that the European Union will always be very firm in defending international law, wherever it may be, which of course begins within the territory of the member states of the European Union,” Mr Costa told a press conference shortly after Trump’s announcement.

“For now, I am coordinating a joint response from the member states of the European Union on this issue,” he continued.

The leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, is the latest to respond to Donald Trump’s tariffs announcement.

Writing on social media, he said: “We don’t always agree with the US government and in this case we certainly don’t. These tariffs will hurt us.

“If Greenland is vulnerable to malign influences, then have another look at Diego Garcia.”

The leader of the UK’s Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, has said Donald Trump is “punishing” the UK.

Writing on social media, he said: “Starmer’s US policy lies in tatters. Trump is now punishing the UK and Nato allies just for doing the right thing.

“Time for the PM to stand firm against the bully in the White House, and work with European and Commonwealth allies to make him back down from this reckless plan.”

We’re still waiting to hear from prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders of countries that now face tariffs.

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke writes:

Donald Trump’s plan to slap tariffs on the UK is a major blow for Starmer.

Not only was foreign policy perhaps the only area where the government was seen to be performing relatively well, but the PM now faces accusations of having appeased the volatile US president, an approach which critics will say has only emboldened Trump.

Already, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey – a vocal critic of the government’s foreign policy – has come out and warned Starmer’s foreign policy “lies in tatters”, calling for the PM to finally “stand firm against the bully in the White House”.

But it’s not just optics that will be a major blow for the prime minister. The UK’s ailing economy is in an extremely fragile state, with figures published this week showing we had growth of just 0.3 per cent in November.

There were hopes the country’s precarious finances had started to show the green shoots of recovery. But there’s no doubt that 10 per cent tariffs across the board will put a significant dampener on hopes of an economic comeback.

Starmer will now be attempting to salvage the wreckage, in hopes that the good relationship he has built with Trump can be leveraged to negotiate a carve out for Britain.

But as Trump has shown time and time again, sharing warm words with the US president means very little when it comes to his foreign policy.

A “fundamental disagreement” persists. This was the only concrete outcome of the meeting at the White House between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials on January 14, as each side maintained its original position on Greenland’s sovereignty. The Trump administration argued that the US has to take direct control of the island, while both Danish and Greenlandic officials firmly rejected the idea.

This was perhaps to be expected. The recently released US National Security Strategy made one thing very clear: US foreign policy is now defined by an assertive approach towards the entire Western Hemisphere.

Washington claims the right to intervene in other countries’ domestic affairs – even militarily, if necessary – in order to guarantee US strategic and corporate interests.

Professor of International Relations Michele Testoni writes, before Trump’s tariff announcement: