The European Union is weighing retaliatory tariffs on American goods and the deployment of its most powerful anti-coercion instrument after Donald Trump threatened to impose taxes on imports from eight nations opposed to his attempt to annex Greenland – a move one minister described as “blackmail”. EU diplomats met for crisis talks on Sunday, discussing reviving a plan to levy tariffs on €93bn of US goods, suspended after last summer’s trade deal.
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, called on fellow leaders to activate the EU’s anti-coercion instrument – known as the “big bazooka” – if Trump follows through with his tariff threats, French media reported. The instrument, never before used, allows the bloc to impose punitive economic measures on a country seeking to force a policy change.
The leaders of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland issued a joint statement saying: “Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral… We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.” The head of the European Council, António Costa, announced an emergency EU summit likely to take place on Thursday, stressing the bloc’s “readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion”.
The EU was also considering reactivating a package of counter-tariffs against €93bn of US goods, including cars, industrial goods, food and drink. These measures were drawn up in response to Trump’s previous trade threats and suspended after a deal last summer. But the bloc remains far from agreement, with one diplomat saying there was “no question” of using the anti-coercion instrument or other trade measures at present, and several sources emphasising a desire for dialogue.
Trump doubled down on his threats, accusing the eight nations of playing “a very dangerous game” by deploying troops to Greenland. In a social media post, he said they would face 10% tariffs from 1 February, rising to 25% from 1 June, “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland”. The threats have cast a shadow over Nato and thrown into doubt the ratification of the EU-US trade deal, which had been expected by February.
