Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described Donald Trump’s threat to impose 10% tariffs on the UK and other European allies over Greenland as “completely wrong”. The US president announced the measure on Saturday, targeting Nato members including the UK, France and Germany, with tariffs set to rise to 25% by June if a deal to buy the Arctic island is not reached.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland of journeying to Greenland “for purposes unknown”, calling the situation “very dangerous for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet”. The tariffs are due to take effect from 1 February.
Starmer responded on Saturday evening, stating: “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. Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of Nato allies is completely wrong. We will of course be pursuing this directly with the US administration.”
Opposition leaders also condemned the move. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Trump was “completely wrong” and that the tariffs would be “yet another burden for businesses”. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey accused Trump of “punishing the UK and Nato allies just for doing the right thing”, urging the PM to “stand firm against the bully in the White House”. Reform leader Nigel Farage acknowledged the tariffs would “hurt” the UK, while Labour MP Stella Creasy argued the crisis shows the need for a serious strategic reset with Europe.
Former national security adviser Lord Peter Ricketts advised a calm response, noting that the EU has a single tariff regime, making it impossible to target individual member states. He stressed that European leaders should work privately with Trump to address legitimate Arctic security concerns without resorting to “threatening, blustering language”.
