A rchive Date
[ 18-01-2026 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Greenland ]
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[https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260118-macron-wants-eu-anti-coercion-instrument-against-trump-tariffs-greenland
Trump tariff threats over Greenland prompt calls for unprecedented EU counter-measures
French President Emmanuel Macron will ask the EU to activate it’s "anti-coercion instrument", dubbed its trade “bazooka”, for the first time ever if US President Donald Trump follows through with his threats to impose new tariffs on European countries who oppose his plans to purchase Greenland, his team said Sunday. An extraordinary meeting of EU ambassadors has been called in Brussels for Sunday afternoon
Issued on: 18/01/2026 - 13:01
By: FRANCE 24
France's President Emmanuel Macron will ask the European Union to activate its powerful "anti-coercion instrument" if the United States imposes additional tariffs in the standoff over Greenland, his team said Sunday.
The bloc's weapon – never used before and dubbed its trade "bazooka" – allows for curbing imports of goods and services, and has been invoked as a way to push back over tech and trade, and now the Danish territory US President Donald Trump wants to acquire.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said 10 percent tariffs would come into effect on February 1 on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Finland. Those tariffs would increase to 25 percent on June 1 and would continue until a deal is reached for the United States to undertake the "complete and total purchase" of Greenland, Trump said.
Trump's tariffs target a number of European countries that have at Denmark's request deployed troops in recent days to the vast, mineral-rich territory at the gateway to the Arctic with a population of 57,000.
Ambassadors from the European Union's 27 countries will convene on Sunday for an emergency meeting to discuss the tariffs.
Cyprus, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, said late on Saturday that it had called the meeting for Sunday. EU diplomats said it was set to start at 5pm.
European Union leaders on Saturday warned Trump's threat could trigger "a dangerous downward spiral".
"Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa said in a joint statement.
"Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty," they added.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
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