Donald Trump has set out his plan to impose rising tariffs on eight European countries until the US is allowed to purchase Greenland. Under the measures, an initial 10% levy will rise to 25% in June. Follow the latest.
Saturday 17 January 2026 18:24, UK
Thousands of people have joined a “hands off Greenland” protest in Denmark today after Donald Trump’s latest threats to acquire the territory.
Crowds waved flags of the Danish island and held signs with messages saying “make America go away!”
We can bring you more political reaction now to Donald Trump’s tariff threat.
Reform leader Nigel Farage has posted on social media saying the tariffs “will hurt us”.
“If Greenland is vulnerable to malign influences, then have another look at Diego Garcia,” he says.
‘Trump is now punishing the UK’
Meanwhile, Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, says Starmer’s US policy “lies in tatters”.
“Trump is now punishing the UK and NATO allies just for doing the right thing,” he says.
Those comments come after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch labelled Trump’s plan a “terrible idea”, adding that the US president is “completely wrong” (see 17.33 post).
Donald Trump’s tariff announcement comes after European countries sent military personnel to Greenland in a show of support for the territory.
France has sent as many as 15 personnel, with Germany sending 13.
Meanwhile, the UK has sent one military officer.
Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands have also joined in sending personnel this week.
All of those countries are the subject of Trump’s tariff threat (see 16.40 post), with the US president accusing them of playing a “dangerous game”.
As the news of Donald Trump’s tariff threat sets in, we’re starting to get reaction from political leaders.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has labelled Trump’s plan a “terrible idea”, adding that the US president is “completely wrong”.
We’re hearing from our political correspondent Amanda Akass after Donald Trump set out his plan to impose tariffs on eight European countries including the UK.
She says the move is a “disaster” for Sir Keir Starmer and his government, who “have staked so much on developing this supposedly close special relationship with Donald Trump”.
She explains that the government is “torn with their desire to maintain their relationship, but also stand up for NATO and to stand up for a very close European ally in Denmark”.
“The economic impact of tariffs is also something that no government would want,” Akass adds, explaining that Starmer’s government has put economic growth “front and centre”.
She also points out the UK sent just one military officer to Greenland to take part in a reconnaissance exercise.
Watch her analysis…
Donald Trump’s tariff threat comes after a bipartisan US delegation visited Denmark yesterday in a bid to defuse tensions over Greenland.
The group of US members of Congress met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and Danish ministers in Copenhagen.
The group’s leader, the Democratic senator Chris Coons, thanked Denmark for “225 years of being a good and trusted ally and partner”.
He pledged to share the Danish perspective in Washington:
“Part of the point of this trip is to have a bipartisan group of members of Congress listen respectfully to our friends, our trusted allies and partners here in Denmark and from Greenland, and to go back to the United States and share those perspectives so that we can lower the temperature and have a more constructive dialogue about the best path forward.”
Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican senator from Alaska, said “the vast majority” of Americans didn’t think that acquiring Greenland is a good idea.
Speaking at the White House yesterday, Donald Trump threatened to put tariffs on countries that don’t support his plan for the US to control Greenland.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said at a rural health roundtable.
Trump has repeatedly said that the US “absolutely” needs to acquire Greenland, increasing pressure on Denmark, which the island formally belongs to.
Watch: Trump makes tariff threat
Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social saying he will implement a wave of tariffs on European countries – including the UK – until the US is allowed to purchase Greenland.
He says 10% tariffs would come into effect on 1 February for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland.
Those tariffs will then increase to 25% on 1 June until a deal is reached for the US to purchase Greenland.
Read his post in full…
Thanks for following our rolling coverage of the fallout from Donald Trump’s latest foreign policy interventions.
Here’s a region-by-region rundown of today’s key developments:
Greenland
Trump has threatened tariffs on countries that don’t support his plan for the US to control Greenland. He reaffirmed later that the US faces “a big hole in our national security” without Greenland.
But the Danish general overseeing the island’s security contradicted Trump’s claim that Greenland was “covered with Russian and Chinese ships”, saying he hadn’t seen any.
Watch: Trump threatens tariffs on countries opposing Greenland plans
Venezuela
Maria Corina Machado, a leader of Venezuela’s opposition, spoke in Washington, one day after she gifted Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal. The US president today called this “a very nice gesture”.
Machado said she was confident there would be elections soon. She also told the US president the opposition had a mandate from the people to lead the country.
Watch Machado’s comments in Washington in the video…
Gaza
The White House announced the members of several administrative bodies that will oversee Gaza’s post-war transition in extension of the overarching Board of Peace.
Gaza’s Executive Board will notably include Tony Blair, Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, among others – confirming recent reports.
An 11-member bipartisan delegation from US Congress has today visited Copenhagen, as we’ve been reporting throughout the day.
The delegates were due to meet with the Danish and Greenlandic prime ministers amid tensions over Donald Trump’s aggressive attempts to acquire the island.
The delegation was headed by Democratic senator Chris Coons, who said he wanted to “lower the temperature” in the debate after a meeting with Danish MPs.
Lisa Murkowsi, a senator from Alaska, was among the Republican delegates. The pins she wore also carried a message.
The delegation notably also met with Denmark’s defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, and the foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who represented the country at Washington talks on Greenland on Wednesday.
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