EU convenes emergency talks after Trump threatens tariffs tied to Greenland; Brussels weighs countermeasures

The European Council is convening an extraordinary summit after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on measures tied to Greenland, presenters said on the Jan. 19 broadcast of Utro on Nastoyaschee Vremya.

Brussels correspondent Zoryana Stepanenko told the program that Trump threatened tariffs on eight European countries — Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland and the Netherlands — over what he described as concerns about Greenland’s security and strategic value. Stepanenko said the United States had announced an initial 10% tariff in February that could rise to 25% on June 1 if no agreement is reached.

Stepanenko said European leaders viewed the threatened tariffs as a blow to transatlantic unity and were considering a range of responses. She reported that diplomats and officials discussed pausing an existing trade agreement and that some NATO and EU officials urged calm and diplomacy. She also said diplomats had discussed retaliatory tariffs on goods worth about €93 billion as a potential, though politically fraught, option.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was quoted on the program saying Europe would remain united and ready to defend its sovereignty. The broadcast also reported that French and British officials described the proposed U.S. tariffs as inappropriate and warned of escalation.

The program noted that the World Economic Forum in Davos was opening and that leaders including the U.S. president were expected to attend, where the matter could receive further diplomatic attention. Utro attributed its reporting to statements on the EU website and to Brussels diplomatic sources.

No formal EU decision was announced during the broadcast; Stepanenko said talks were ongoing and that diplomats were still weighing options.