Sunday, January 18, 2026- President Donald Trump has escalated tensions with U.S. allies by publicly threatening to impose trade tariffs on countries that do not support his effort to bring Greenland under U.S. control, arguing that the Arctic territory is vital for American national security.
At a White House event, Trump said he “may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland,” framing the move as necessary to protect U.S. security interests in the region.
The threat is part of a broader push by Trump to assert more direct influence over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. The president’s remarks have rattled European NATO allies, many of whom recently deployed small military contingents to Greenland in cooperation with Denmark.
Trump has not specified which countries could be targeted, but senior allies including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland are already central to the dispute.
Critics argue that using tariffs as leverage in a geopolitical standoff with long-standing allies threatens to undermine transatlantic relations, strain NATO cohesion, and damage global trade partnerships.
European leaders and bipartisan U.S. lawmakers have emphasized that diplomacy and cooperation not coercion should guide Arctic security and sovereign decisions about Greenland’s future. The threat of tariffs adds an urgent economic dimension to an already complex diplomatic debate.
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