Trump says Europe will face tariffs until Denmark gives up Greenland

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he will impose fresh tariffs on European countries until the U.S. reaches a deal to annex Greenland.

Trump said only the U.S. can protect Greenland from falling to China or Russia. Greenland is an Arctic island with critical mineral reserves, proximity to key shipping lanes and a strategic location.

“We have subsidized Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them Tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration. Now, after Centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back — World Peace is at stake!” Trump wrote in a lengthy social media post Saturday from Florida. “China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it.”

Trump also posted photos of himself, one with the caption “The Tariff King” and another with the caption “Mister Tariff.”

Trump wants to buy the sparsely populated island, but hasn’t ruled out other methods for acquiring the semi-autonomous Danish territory. Officials from Denmark and Greenland have said the nation isn’t for sale and public polling shows Greenlanders don’t want to join America.

Trump said Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face a 10% tariff on all goods sent to the U.S. starting Feb. 1.

The U.S. president said that the tariff rate would increase to 25% starting June 1.

“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. “The United States has been trying to do this transaction for over 150 years. Many Presidents have tried, and for good reason, but Denmark has always refused. Now, because of The Golden Dome, and Modern Day Weapons Systems, both Offensive and Defensive, the need to ACQUIRE is especially important.”

In recent days, as Trump’s talks about acquiring Greenland have ramped up, U.S. allies in Europe have sent a symbolic number of troops to Greenland.

“On top of everything else, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland have journeyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown,” Trump wrote. “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. 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.”

Officials from Greenland and Denmark visited the U.S. earlier this week to try to get Trump to stop talking about annexing the island. The meeting ended with disagreement.

Trump’s new tariffs on European nations come after he inked framework deals with both the EU and the UK on tariffs last year.

Cato scholar Scott Lincicome said Trump’s action was revealing.

“Trump’s tariff announcement confirms what trade policy experts have long warned: First, because Trump’s trade deals are unilateral and non-binding, they can be easily changed on a whim and are unlikely to constrain his daily tariff impulses – impulses that have likely been emboldened by foreign governments’ efforts to placate the President,” he said. “Second, today’s threat underscores the empty justifications for Trump’s so-called ’emergency’ and ‘national security’ tariffs, which instead reveal the economic and geopolitical problems that unbounded executive power creates.”

Trump said U.S. ownership of Greenland is vital to national security, citing concerns that the island could otherwise fall under Chinese or Russian control. He has said his preference is to buy Greenland.

“I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” Trump said last week.

Greenland, home to about 57,000 people, depends on Danish subsidies and fishing. An independent poll done in 2025 found that about 85% of Greenlanders don’t want to join America.

Experts say as ice melts in the Arctic, more shipping and military ship routes could open in the region, changing the global trade and the defensive relationship between the U.S. and Russia. More mining and drilling exploration could also open up.

In 1867, when President Andrew Johnson bought Alaska, he also considered buying Greenland. The U.S. also tried to buy Greenland in 1946. The United States proposed to pay Denmark $100 million in gold to buy Greenland, according to documents in the National Archives. The sale never went through, but the U.S. got the military base it wanted on the island.

Pituffik Space Base, previously known as Thule Air Base, is located in Greenland. Pituffik SB is locked in by ice nine months out of the year, but the airfield is open and operated year-round. Pituffik exists due to agreements between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Denmark, specifically addressing mutual defense, according to the Space Force.

Trump has made tariffs a central part of both his domestic and foreign agendas during his second term. Last April, Trump imposed import taxes of at least 10% on every U.S. trading partner. Since then, the president has suspended, changed, increased, decreased and reimposed tariffs under the 1977 law.

A group of states and small businesses challenged Trump’s tariffs under the 1977 law, winning in two lower courts before the administration appealed to the Supreme Court.

The high court agreed to hear the case on an expedited basis, given the economic stakes at issue. The Trump administration could be forced to refund more than $133.5 billion in tariff revenue to importers if the Supreme Court sides with the states and small businesses in the case.

Lincicome said if the Supreme Court rules against Trump’s tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, tariff uncertainty won’t end.

“Even if the Court invalidates Trump’s emergency tariffs, however, it will still be up to Congress to amend the several other U.S. tariff laws that give the president similar tariff powers and, in the process, reclaim its constitutional authority over trade policy,” he said. “Finally, for those who predicted that investment-stifling tariff uncertainty would fade in 2026, it’s time to revise those projections.”