EU-US Trade War Looms as Trump Ties Tariffs to Greenland Sovereignty Dispute

According to a report from the YouTube channel World Affairs In Context (@lenapetrova), European Union member states are holding emergency talks about a severe escalation in the transatlantic trade dispute, centring on U.S. demands regarding Greenland. The situation was triggered by President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 10% tariff on goods from eight European countries, a measure he has explicitly tied to his stated goal of a “complete and total purchase of Greenland” for the United States.

In response, EU ambassadors convened in Brussels to discuss a coordinated reaction. Among the options on the table is reviving a previously suspended plan for counter-tariffs targeting €93 billion worth of U.S. goods. A more significant and unprecedented measure under discussion is the deployment of the bloc’s untested Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), a powerful tool designed to respond to economic blackmail.

European leaders have condemned the move. French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly called the threats “unacceptable” and endorsed using the ACI. The influential chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee stated that sovereignty is now the central issue, with Danish lawmakers pushing for the EU to suspend trade agreement work with the U.S. until it backs down on Greenland. The report suggests that Europe is signalling a willingness to push back with its full economic weight, though it questions whether the political will exists to follow through on the rhetoric.