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Transatlantic tensions implicit Greenland person ratcheted up betwixt the United States and European nations arsenic President Donald Trump doubles down connected his ambitions to get the self-governing island, which is portion of the Kingdom of Denmark.
In a societal media station pursuing a telephone telephone with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte connected Tuesday, Trump said determination is “no going back” connected Washington’s plans. Trump added that helium would conscionable “the assorted parties” successful Davos, Switzerland, during this week’s yearly acme of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Last weekend, Trump threatened to summation commercialized tariffs for European countries which reason his effort to get Greenland. Since the tariff threats, the European Union has been contemplating its response, with immoderate members calling for the implementation of the bloc’s never-before-used “trade bazooka” option of retaliatory tariffs and restrictions.
Given Europe’s decades-long dependence connected Washington, which has lone deepened successful caller years, could the EU instrumentality enactment against the US, and could that hazard a superior transatlantic rift?
What has Trump said astir Greenland this week?
Trump made a bid of posts connected his Truth Social level connected Tuesday, reiterating his ambition to get Greenland and stating that helium would conscionable European leaders successful Davos to sermon the issue.
In 1 post, Trump wrote that helium had a “very bully telephone call” with Rutte astir Greenland. “I agreed to a gathering of the assorted parties successful Davos, Switzerland. As I expressed to everyone, precise plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There tin beryllium nary going backmost – On that, everyone agrees!” helium added.
In a abstracted post, Trump shared a screenshot showing messages, presumably from Rutte, successful which helium wrote, “I americium committed to uncovering a mode guardant connected Greenland.”
In different post, helium shared screenshots of messages from French President Emmanuel Macron, who wrote, “I bash not recognize what you are doing successful Greenland.” In the messages, Macron besides offered to acceptable up a Group of Seven gathering successful Paris connected Thursday.
Trump besides posted mockup images created utilizing artificial quality (AI) tools connected Tuesday, showing himself holding the US emblem successful Greenland with a motion stating “US territory”. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are depicted successful the image, lasting down him.
Another representation Trump shared shows him successful an Oval Office gathering with European leaders. It includes a representation connected an easel showing the US emblem spanning Canada, Greenland and Venezuela.
Why does Trump privation Greenland?
The sparsely populated Arctic land of 56,000 radical – mostly Indigenous Inuit – is geographically successful North America but politically portion of Denmark, making it portion of Europe. Greenland withdrew from the European Community (EC/EU) successful 1985 aft it gained location rule, but maintains a peculiar relation with the EU arsenic an Overseas Country and Territory (OCT), which grants constricted interior marketplace entree and EU citizenship to Greenland’s residents done Denmark.
Trump has agelong coveted Greenland due to the fact that of its strategical determination and plentiful mineral deposits, including highly sought-after rare-earth metals required for the manufacture of a wide scope of exertion from smartphones to combatant planes. The land has truthful drawn expanding involvement from starring powers arsenic clime alteration opens up caller shipping lanes successful the Arctic.
Currently, Greenland’s system relies chiefly connected fishing; locals reason large-scale mining, and determination is nary lipid oregon state extraction.
The island’s geographical presumption betwixt the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans provides the shortest aerial and oversea routes betwixt North America and Europe, making it important for US subject operations and early-warning systems, particularly astir the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap, according to the Trump administration.
What commercialized tariffs is Trump threatening?
On January 17, Trump said, starting February 1, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland would beryllium charged a 10 percent tariff connected their exports to the US.
On June 1, the tariff would beryllium accrued to 25 percent, helium said. “This Tariff volition beryllium owed and payable until specified clip arsenic a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total acquisition of Greenland,” Trump wrote connected Truth Social.
A time aft Trump posted this menace to societal media, the 27 EU members convened for an exigency meeting.
In a joint statement, the 8 countries targeted by Trump with caller tariffs said they “stand successful afloat solidarity” with Denmark and the radical of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
“Building connected the process begun past week, we basal acceptable to prosecute successful a dialog based connected the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we basal firmly behind,” the connection said.
“Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and hazard a unsafe downward spiral. We volition proceed to basal agreed and coordinated successful our response. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.”
What enactment could Europe instrumentality against Trump implicit Greenland?
European leaders are contemplating respective responses to Trump’s threat, ranging from diplomacy to retaliatory tariffs to the extreme, last-ditch “trade bazooka” – the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) – which could people circumstantial goods and services the US has a commercialized surplus successful with the EU.
However, the never-before-used ACI, which was adopted by the EU successful 2023 pursuing restrictions placed connected Lithuanian exports by China, would apt instrumentality months to implement. It requires the statement of a minimum of 15 EU countries, representing astatine slightest 65 percent of the bloc’s population. It besides requires a months-long probe process.
How overmuch does Europe beryllium connected the US?
Europe has a increasing dependence connected Washington successful assorted sectors.
Defence
In caller years, Europe has go progressively babelike connected the US for subject and quality support, particularly since the commencement of Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine successful February 2022.
Even earlier that, the US was providing Ukraine with important intelligence support, which has not been elaborate publicly. However, reports and officials item 2 important roles it has played – first, outer and signals quality assistance Ukraine expect and hole for Russian attacks, and second, it helps find force troops and bases truthful Ukrainians tin people them with missiles, including long-range systems which tin scope wrong Russian territory.
European NATO states received 64 percent of their arms imports from the US betwixt 2020 and 2024, up from 52 percent during 2015-19, according to a study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published successful March 2025.
The US contributed astir 16 percent of NATO’s communal budgets, the associated largest contribution, matched lone by Germany’s, according to a NATO breakdown published past year.
“Militarily, astir fractional of Europe’s caller procurement comes from the US, particularly successful captious backbone capabilities specified arsenic combat aircraft, missiles, aerial defence, software-driven systems and sustainment,” Christine Nissen, main expert astatine the Copenhagen-based Think Tank Europa, told Al Jazeera.
“These dependencies are profoundly locked successful done platforms, upgrades, spare parts, information and interoperability.”
Economy
Europe is besides highly babelike connected the US for the proviso of exertion services and economical infrastructure, specified arsenic unreality services, semiconductors, integer platforms, outer services, cybersecurity, vigor technologies and parts of the fiscal system, Nissen said.
“In galore of these domains, Europe relies connected US firms, standards and regulatory reach, which amplifies Washington’s leverage successful a confrontation.”
Investors successful European countries clasp much than $10 trillion of US Treasury bonds.
Bonds are investments done which investors lend wealth to a authorities oregon a institution for a acceptable clip successful speech for regular involvement payments and the archetypal superior backmost astatine maturity to whoever is holding the enslaved astatine the time. Bonds tin beryllium bought and sold connected fiscal markets, truthful the issuer of the enslaved whitethorn yet wage backmost a antithetic capitalist from the 1 who archetypal bought it.
Bonds usually connection little returns than banal marketplace shares but are seen arsenic low-risk, particularly authorities bonds.
US Treasury bonds are peculiarly fashionable arsenic they are viewed arsenic “safe-haven” assets. If US-Europe relations crook hostile, however, that harmless haven would go highly politicised arsenic determination could beryllium a perceived information that the US mightiness not repay the archetypal superior brought to bargain the bonds.
Furthermore, if determination is simply a rift successful transatlantic relations, investors could panic and commencement selling disconnected US Treasury bonds en masse. When tons of radical merchantability astatine the aforesaid time, the terms of bonds drops. This would mean that the worth of the bonds EU members ain would decline, and they would suffer wealth connected their immense heap of US bonds.
While this would beryllium atrocious for the US economically, it would besides mean that European holders of the bonds would nary longer beryllium capable to afloat trust connected this stash of “safe” assets and mightiness person trouble uncovering different places large and unchangeable capable to determination that wealth to.
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“The [economic] dependency is communal but asymmetric. For the US, Europe is chiefly a large marketplace and concern partner, a commercialized dependence. For Europe, the reliance is operational, technological and security-critical,” Nissen said.
“That asymmetry gives Washington durable structural influence, careless of who occupies the White House.”
Energy
Following Russia’s penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022, Europe has imposed sanctions connected Russian lipid and has gradually reduced its vigor dependence connected Russia.
Europe’s imports of Russian state fell by 75 percent betwixt 2021 and 2025, according to a study by the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), published connected Monday.
Instead, Europe accrued vigor imports from the US, particularly liquefied earthy state (LNG).
Europe’s imports of US LNG jumped from 21 cardinal cubic metres (bcm) successful 2021 to 81bcm successful 2025 – astir a fourfold increase. “This means that EU countries sourced 57 percent of their LNG imports from the US successful 2025,” the IEEFA study states.
The study besides states that if the EU takes each the US LNG it has signed up for, and does not chopped its state use, by 2030, the US could beryllium supplying astir 75 to 80 percent of its imports.
What happens if Europe-US relations interruption down?
Europe has a batch to lose.
“A superior rupture with the US would apt trim Europe’s entree to captious subject support, technology, intelligence, vigor flows and parts of the fiscal and integer ecosystem,” Nissen said.
That dependence is wherefore Europe has usually tried hard truthful acold not to clash with the US, she said.
“In the abbreviated term, Europe cannot meaningfully decouple without existent capableness and economical costs,” Nissen said.
Therefore, she added, Europe is improbable to abruptly interruption from the US, but alternatively gradually displacement distant from it by gathering caller trading partnerships and processing its accumulation capabilities for indispensable goods and services.
“Over the past weeks, Europe has started to determination much explicitly toward diversification arsenic a strategical hedge: reducing single-supplier exposure, widening partnerships and strengthening interior resilience,” Nissen said.
“At the aforesaid time, determination is simply a overmuch stronger governmental absorption connected gathering European capabilities – successful defence production, captious technologies, vigor infrastructure and concern capacity. The logic is not decoupling from the US, but lowering vulnerability and expanding European country for manoeuvre implicit time.”
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