President Donald Trump has announced a 10% tariff on eight European countries that have objected to his efforts to “purchase” Greenland, insisting that Washington must control the territory for the sake of “world peace.”
Announced on Saturday, Trump said the “strong measures” will target Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, adding that they would take effect on February 1. He vowed to ramp up the tariffs further in the coming months should those states continue to oppose US control of Greenland – a Danish territory since the 18th century.
“On June 1st, 2026, the tariff will be increased to 25%. This tariff will be due and payable until such time as a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland,” the president continued, adding that Washington “is immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these countries.”
Trump went on to insist that “world peace” was at stake, claiming that both Beijing and Moscow “want Greenland.” He provided no evidence for that claim, but added that the territory is vital to the proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense shield.
The move follows a new round of military exercises by several European states in Greenland, which were announced with little notice earlier this week. Though the head of Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command – Major General Soren Andersen – said the drills were “not at all” focused on the United States, the decision appeared abrupt, and followed weeks of escalating US rhetoric over Greenland.
Andersen dismissed Trump’s earlier claims that Russian and Chinese military vessels were “all over the place” near Greenland, saying that the closest Russian research ship was some 310 nautical miles from its shores. Nonetheless, he said the latest drills were intended to counter Moscow.
On Friday, two Danish F-35 fighter jets took part in exercises over Greenland alongside a French tanker, though Denmark’s military described the flights as routine drills.
US Senator Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, offered a much different take on the exercises, however, arguing that they were indeed a warning to the United States.
“Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,” he wrote on X. “If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.”
Soon after Trump announced the new tariffs, the eight targeted nations issued a statement denouncing the decision, saying it would “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”
“We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland,” the statement said. “Building 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.”
The US president has repeatedly suggested that Washington could take control of Greenland since his first term in office, initially calling to simply buy the country in 2019. While local officials rejected the idea as “absurd” at the time, Trump has not relented on the issue in the years since – even hinting at the use of force.
The United States maintains a small permanent military footprint in Greenland through the Pituffik Space Base, a Space Force installation operated under a Cold War-era treaty with the Kingdom of Denmark. According to the Pentagon, the base “supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance missions.”
