Trump tariff threats over Greenland prompt calls for unprecedented EU counter-measures
· France 24France's President Emmanuel Macron will ask the European Union to activate its powerful "anti-coercion instrument" if the United States imposes additional tariffs in the standoff over Greenland, his team said Sunday.
The bloc's weapon – never-before used and dubbed its trade "bazooka" – allows for curbing imports of goods and services. It has been invoked as a possible way to push back over tech and trade, and now the Danish territory US President Donald Trump wants to acquire.
Trump on Saturday vowed to implement a wave of rising tariffs on European allies until the United States is allowed to purchase Greenland.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said 10 percent tariffs would come into effect on February 1 on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Finland. Those tariffs would increase to 25 percent on June 1 and would continue until a deal is reached for the United States to undertake the "complete and total purchase" of Greenland, Trump said.
Read moreTrump announces 10% tariff on Europe over Greenland, including France, UK, Denmark
Trump's tariffs target a number of European countries that have at Denmark's request deployed troops in recent days to the vast, mineral-rich territory at the gateway to the Arctic with a population of 57,000.
The eight European nations targeted by the tariffs said in a joint statement on Sunday that they stood in solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland.
"As members of NATO, we are committed to strengthening Arctic security as a shared transatlantic interest," Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Britain said in the statement.
"Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," the statement said.
Ambassadors from the European Union's 27 countries will convene on Sunday for an emergency meeting to discuss the tariffs.
EU ambassadors hold emergency meeting to discuss response to US tariff threats over Greenland
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Cyprus, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, said late on Saturday that it had called the meeting for Sunday. EU diplomats said it was set to start at 5pm.
European Union leaders on Saturday warned Trump's threat could trigger "a dangerous downward spiral".
"Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa said in a joint statement.
"Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty," they added.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)