Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described Donald Trump's threat to impose 10% tariffs on the UK and seven other European countries over Greenland as 'completely wrong'. The US president announced the levies would apply from 1 February to Nato members that have deployed troops to the Arctic island, escalating to 25% by June if no deal to buy Greenland is reached.
In a Truth Social post, Trump accused Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland of 'journeying to Greenland for purposes unknown', calling it a danger to global security. Starmer responded by stating that Greenland is part of Denmark and its sovereignty is a matter for Greenlanders and Danes, adding that applying tariffs on allies pursuing collective Nato security is unjustified.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey also condemned the move. Badenoch called the tariffs a burden on UK businesses, while Davey urged Starmer to stand firm against the 'bully in the White House'. Reform leader Nigel Farage acknowledged the tariffs would 'hurt' the UK, despite disagreeing with Trump's approach.
Former national security adviser Lord Peter Ricketts advised European nations to react calmly and privately make clear that tariffs on individual EU countries are unworkable due to the bloc's single tariff system. He stressed the need for co-operation on Arctic security within Nato rather than unilateral threats.
