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 19:30, UK
Sir Keir Starmer has responded after Donald Trump set out how he plans to impose tariffs on eight European countries – including the UK – over Greenland.
“Our position on Greenland is very clear – it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes,” Starmer says.
“We have also made clear that Arctic Security matters for the whole of NATO and allies should all do more together to address the threat from Russia across different parts of the Arctic.”
He goes on to condemn Trump’s move as being “completely wrong”.
“We will of course be pursuing this directly with the US administration.”
We’re now hearing from Mikkel Runge Olesen, Senior Researcher at Danish Institute for International Studies.
He tells our presenter Jonathan Samuels that the strategy of sending European forces to Greenland “appears to be working”.
“Donald Trump has been threatening military invasion, now he shifts to tariffs,” he says.
“Why does he do that? That’s because the steps taken by the European countries appear to be working.”
Olesen also says that Trump’s argument of needing Greenland for security “makes no sense”.
“Trump says he needs ownership of Greenland in order to protect Greenland,” he adds.
“The only reason that it’s a problem is because he doesn’t want to protect Greenland unless he owns it.
“It’s kind of circular and doesn’t make much sense.”
Watch the full interview…
French President Emmanuel Macron has hit back at Donald Trump over his tariff threat.
“France is committed to the sovereignty and independence of nations, in Europe as elsewhere,” he says in a post on social media.
“This guides our choices. It underpins our attachment to the United Nations and to our Charter.”
Macron says “it is on this basis that we support and will continue to support Ukraine”.
He continues: “It is also on this basis that we have decided to join the exercise decided by Denmark in Greenland. We stand by this decision. Especially because it concerns security in the Arctic and at the frontiers of our Europe.”
Macron says European leaders won’t be influenced by intimidation or threat.
“Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context, he adds.
“Europeans will respond to them in a united and coordinated manner if they were to be confirmed. We will know how to uphold European sovereignty.
“It is in this spirit that I will speak with our European partners.”
Our US correspondent David Blevins says Donald Trump’s latest move is “extraordinary” considering he was threatening tariffs on countries trading with Iran just a few days ago.
“In the context of NATO, it is an entirely different thing to threaten to impose tariffs on some of your closest allies,” he says.
“But president Trump has clearly been irked by a number of things, not least the fact that the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland came here to Washington this week and refused to buckle.”
Blevins explains that Trump seems “determined to press ahead” with his plan for Greenland, regardless of how it plays out across the European Union and the UK.
“The administration has always argued that he has the authority under an emergency power if it’s to do with national security,” he adds.
“But think carefully about that, because you’ve got to ask yourself the question, is a desire to seize territory that doesn’t belong to the US a matter of national security?
“It’s interesting timing, given that the Supreme Court is about to issue its judgment on the issue.”
Watch his analysis…
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.
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