The European Parliament froze the approval of the trade agreement with the US

Trump announced over the weekend that he would impose a new 10% tariff on Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Great Britain, France and the Netherlands – eight countries that symbolically sent troops to Greenland a few days before. It was a small delegation of individual soldiers, but the Europeans said that they wanted to “symbolize” that they are partners in the defense of the Arctic island. But sending the soldiers infuriated Trump, who saw it as an anti-American move. In a post he published on the social network he owns, he said that this is a “very dangerous step”, and stated that the tariffs will rise to 25% from June 1 “until the final and agreed purchase of Greenland”.

In his speech today in Davos, Trump did not refer to these tariffs at all, but returned to his demand to “receive” the Arctic island in exchange for payment, and in response to the security umbrella that the US extends over Europe. Trump also did not refer to the threat to impose a 200% tariff on French wines, which he mentioned when asked how he would respond to France’s refusal to join his peace council.

The European leaders, including the Prime Minister of Great Britain, have tried in the days since the announcement to minimize the controversy and work towards de-escalation. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose country signed a trade agreement that imposes “only” a 10% tariff on it, said that “we must not rush and respond” to Trump’s threats with reciprocal tariffs. Germany and the Netherlands also called for a “measured approach” and to open a dialogue about a possible mutual tariff increase. For now, however, the certainty that European businesses have longed for – which reduced tariffs to 15% – has been frozen until further notice. Along with it, the agreements on the quota of vehicles to be exported to the USA as part of the agreement, as well as a European agreement for the purchase of energy for 750 billion euros, were frozen, all part of the trade deal.