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The eight European countries targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump for\u00a0a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland\u00a0blasted the move Sunday, warning that the American leader\u2019s threats \u201cundermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an unusual and very strong joint statement coming from major U.S. allies, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland on Sunday said troops sent to Greenland for the Danish military training exercise \u201cArctic Endurance\u201d pose \u201cno threat to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s Saturday announcement sets up a potentially dangerous test of U.S. partnerships in Europe. The Republican president appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks over the status of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of\u00a0NATO ally\u00a0Denmark that he regards as critical to U.S. national security.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland,\u201d the group said. \u201cBuilding on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are immediate questions about how the White House could try to implement the tariffs because the EU is a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was unclear, too, how Trump could act under U.S. law, though he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently subject to a\u00a0U.S. Supreme Court\u00a0challenge.<\/p>\n
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from the divisions between the U.S. and Europe. She added in a post on social media: \u201cIf Greenland\u2019s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s move was also panned domestically.<\/p>\n
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly,\u00a0a former U.S. Navy pilot\u00a0and Democrat who represents Arizona, posted that Trump\u2019s threatened tariffs on U.S. allies would make Americans \u201cpay more to try to get territory we don\u2019t need.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTroops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,\u201d he wrote on social media. \u201cThe damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn\u2019t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Six of the countries targeted are part of the 27-member EU, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was not immediately clear if Trump\u2019s tariffs would impact the entire bloc. EU envoys scheduled emergency talks for Sunday evening to determine a potential response.<\/p>\n
The tariff announcement even drew blowback from Trump\u2019s populist allies in Europe.<\/p>\n
Italy\u2019s right-wing premier, Giorgia Meloni, considered one of Trump\u2019s closest allies on the continent, said Sunday she had spoken to him about the tariffs, which she described as \u201ca mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deployment to Greenland of small numbers of troops by some European countries was misunderstood by Washington, Meloni told reporters. She said the deployment was not a move against the U.S. but aimed to provide security against \u201cother actors\u201d that she didn\u2019t name.<\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media that \u201cno intimidation or threats will influence us, whether in Ukraine, Greenland or anywhere else in the world when we are faced with such situations.\u201d He added that \u201ctariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen\u2019s far-right National Rally party in France and also a European Parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last year\u2019s\u00a0tariff deal\u00a0with the U.S., describing Trump\u2019s threats as \u201ccommercial blackmail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump also achieved the rare feat of uniting Britain\u2019s main political parties \u2014 including the hard-right Reform UK party \u2014 all of whom criticized the tariff threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t always agree with the U.S. government and in this case we certainly don\u2019t. These tariffs will hurt us,\u201d Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a longtime champion and ally of Trump, wrote on social media. He stopped short of criticizing Trump\u2019s designs on Greenland.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads the center-left Labour Party, said the tariffs announcement was \u201ccompletely wrong\u201d and his government would \u201cbe pursuing this directly with the U.S. administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Norway are also expected to address the crisis Sunday in Oslo during a news conference.<\/p>\n
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Leicester reported from Paris and Cook from Brussels. Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, Aamer Madhani in Washington and Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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