Trump says the US will impose up to 25% tariffs on Denmark and other European countries until they hand over Greenland
SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images
- Trump says the US will impose new tariffs on European countries until Denmark hands over Greenland.
- The president said the tariffs would start at 10% and increase to 25%.
- Trump has repeatedly used tariffs as leverage on what he calls national security issues.
President Donald Trump has turned to his favorite form of leverage in his fight to annex Greenland.
Trump said on Saturday he would impose a 10% tariff on Denmark, which controls Greenland, as well as Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland, unless they agree to a deal to hand over Greenland to the United States.
The president said he would raise those tariffs to 25% in June if they did not comply. All of those countries have already been paying a 10% tariff rate since Trump's Liberation Day levies went into effect in August 2025.
"This tariff will be due and payable until such time a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase," he said in a Truth Social post. Trump's threat comes as world leaders and CEOs gather in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. The president is expected to address the conference on Wednesday.
Trump has had Greenland on his mind since his first term, but has ramped up the rhetoric since the US raid in Venezuela that netted Nicolás Maduro.
The president says US control of Greenland is a national security issue.