European leaders rejected the move, calling it hostile and reaffirming that Greenland is not for sale.
Trump has decided to drag the Greenland fight a step deeper yet again.
On Saturday, he woke up bright and early to announce that goods from eight NATO countries will face new tariffs, starting at 10% on February 1, and jumping to 25% by June 1, unless they agree to sell Greenland to the United States.
The list includes Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, and Finland.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “Until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” these tariffs will stay. He said this was a direct response to those countries sending troops to Greenland, something he clearly saw as an unwanted move into what he thinks should be American territory.
Trump didn’t exactly explain why those countries were sending troops, but said, “They have journeyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown.” He added, “This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet.”
A day before posting the new tariff plan, Trump said he was considering using a similar strategy he used against foreign drug companies.
“I may do that for Greenland too,” he said during a White House appearance Friday. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security.”
The eight European countries didn’t waste time reacting. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen blasted the move. “We choose partnership and cooperation,” she said on Bluesky. “We choose our businesses. We choose our people.” She framed the tariffs not just as a trade issue but as a bigger threat to Western unity.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also responded, saying on Thursday that the defense of Greenland is a “common concern” for all NATO members.
The timing of Trump’s announcement is not random. The U.S. military has been showing more interest in Greenland for months. Now, these European countries are doing the same. That seems to be what triggered Trump’s response. He’s trying to stop what he sees as others getting in the way of America’s Arctic plans.
On the same day Trump posted about the tariffs, two U.S. senators landed in Copenhagen to try to cool things down. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska met with officials to push back on Trump’s narrative.
“There are no pressing security threats to Greenland,” Coons told reporters Saturday. He said the trip was meant to “restore a sense of trust” with the region and challenge the idea that European troop deployments are part of some conspiracy.
Both Coons and Murkowski said they viewed the presence of NATO troops in Greenland as a good sign, not a threat. “Seeing active training and deployments into one of the harshest, most remote places on Earth… we should take as an encouraging signal,” Coons said.
Murkowski also rejected the idea that the president’s position represents all of Washington. “You cannot allow this to become a partisan matter,” she said. “Support for our friends and allies… should not be.”
Trump’s new strategy may suggest that he’s stepping away from using military action to grab the island. But he’s not letting go of the idea. Greenland is still very much on his radar, and tariffs are now his weapon of choice.
Behind the scenes, there’s also a legal fight brewing. Trump has been using a special law that gives presidents economic powers during emergencies. That’s how he’s been pushing out these tariffs.
But the Supreme Court could rule on that law as early as next week, deciding if the whole thing holds up or not.
Trump has used tariffs more than any president in modern history. He sees them not just as taxes, but as a tool to control what other countries do. Greenland is now just the latest battleground.
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