President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States will impose 10% tariffs on goods from Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and other European countries starting Feb. 1, with the rate rising to 25% on June 1, unless a deal is reached for the U.S. to purchase Greenland.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said the targeted countries have benefited for years from U.S. trade terms and security protection and claimed "world peace is at stake" as China and Russia seek influence over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Trump said the tariffs would apply to "any and all goods" sent to the United States from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland.
He said the duties would remain in place "until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland."
Trump also linked the potential acquisition to U.S. national security and missile defense, writing that Greenland's inclusion is needed for a "highly complex system" he referred to as "The Golden Dome," and said the U.S. is "immediately open to negotiation" with Denmark and the other listed countries.
The White House did not immediately provide additional details on how the tariffs would be implemented.
Trump's full post read as follows:
"We have subsidized Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them Tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration. Now, after Centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back — World Peace is at stake!
"China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it. They currently have two dogsleds as protection, one added recently.
"Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that! Nobody will touch this sacred piece of Land, especially since the National Security of the United States, and the World at large, is at stake.
"On top of everything else, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland have journeyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown. This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet.
"These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable. Therefore, it is imperative that, in order to protect Global Peace and Security, strong measures be taken so that this potentially perilous situation end quickly, and without question.
"Starting on February 1st, 2026, all of the above mentioned Countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland), will be charged a 10% Tariff on any and all goods sent to the United States of America. On June 1st, 2026, the Tariff will be increased to 25%.
"This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland. The United States has been trying to do this transaction for over 150 years. Many Presidents have tried, and for good reason, but Denmark has always refused.
"Now, because of The Golden Dome, and Modern Day Weapons Systems, both Offensive and Defensive, the need to ACQUIRE is especially important. Hundreds of Billions of Dollars are currently being spent on Security Programs having to do with 'The Dome,' including for the possible protection of Canada, and this very brilliant, but highly complex system can only work at its maximum potential and efficiency, because of angles, metes, and bounds, if this Land is included in it.
"The United States of America is immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these Countries that have put so much at risk, despite all that we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
The tariff threat could mark a problematic rupture between Trump and America's longtime NATO partners, further straining an alliance that dates to 1949 and provides a collective degree of security to Europe and North America. Trump has repeatedly tried to use trade penalties to bend allies and rivals alike to his will, generating investment commitments from some nations and pushback from others, notably China.
Trump is scheduled to travel on Tuesday to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he likely will run into the European leaders he just threatened with tariffs that would start in little more than two weeks.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the tariff threats were a "surprise" given the "constructive meeting" with top U.S. officials this week in Washington. He said the purpose of more European troops in Greenland was to "enhance security in the Arctic" and that "we agree with the US that we need to do more since the Arctic is no longer a low tension area."
French President Emmanuel Macron pushed back against Trump in a social media post that seemed to equate the threat to Russian leader Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.
"No intimidation or threats will influence us, whether in Ukraine, Greenland or anywhere else in the world when we are faced with such situations," Macron said in a translated post on X. "Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context. Europeans will respond in a united and coordinated manner."
There are immediate questions about how the White House could try to implement the tariffs because the EU is a single economic zone in terms of trading, according to a European diplomat who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
It was unclear, too, how Trump could act under U.S. law, though he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently subject to a U.S. Supreme Court challenge.
Trump has long said he thinks the U.S. should own the strategically located and mineral-rich island, which has a population of about 57,000 and whose defense is provided by Denmark. He intensified his calls a day after the military operation to oust Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro earlier this month.
The U.S. already has access to Greenland under a 1951 defense agreement. Since 1945, the American military presence in Greenland has decreased from thousands of soldiers over 17 bases and installations to 200 at the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of the island, the Danish foreign minister has said. That base supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.
Resistance has steadily built in Europe to Trump's ambitions even as several countries on the continent agreed to his 15% tariffs last year in order to preserve an economic and security relationship with Washington.
Earlier Saturday, hundreds of people in Greenland's capital, Nuuk, braved near-freezing temperatures, rain and icy streets to march in a rally in support of their own self-governance.
Thousands of people also marched through Copenhagen, many of them carrying Greenland's flag. Some held signs with slogans such as "Make America Smart Again" and "Hands Off."
"This is important for the whole world," Danish protester Elise Riechie told The Associated Press as she held Danish and Greenlandic flags. "There are many small countries. None of them are for sale."
The rallies occurred hours after a bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers, while visiting Copenhagen, sought to reassure Denmark and Greenland of their support.
Danish Maj. Gen. Søren Andersen, leader of the Joint Arctic Command, told the AP that Denmark does not expect the U.S. military to attack Greenland, or any other NATO ally, and that European troops were recently deployed to Nuuk for Arctic defense training.
He said the goal is not to send a message to the Trump administration, even though the White House has not ruled out taking the territory by force.
"I will not go into the political part, but I will say that I would never expect a NATO country to attack another NATO country," he said from aboard a Danish military vessel docked in Nuuk. "For us, for me, it's not about signaling. It is actually about training military units, working together with allies."
The Danish military organized a planning meeting Friday in Greenland with NATO allies, including the U.S., to discuss Arctic security on the alliance's northern flank in the face of a potential Russian threat. The Americans were also invited to participate in Operation Arctic Endurance in Greenland in the coming days, Andersen said.
In his 2 1/2 years as a commander in Greenland, Andersen said that he hasn't seen any Chinese or Russian combat vessels or warships, despite Trump saying that they were off the island's coast.
But in the unlikely event of American troops using force on Danish soil, Andersen confirmed that Danish soldiers have an obligation to fight back.
Trump has contended that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland and its vast untapped reserves of critical minerals. He said recently that anything less than the Arctic island being in U.S. hands would be "unacceptable."
The president has seen tariffs as a tool to get what he wants without having to resort to military actions. At the White House on Friday, he recounted how he had threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals and he teased the possibility of doing so again.
"I may do that for Greenland, too," Trump said.
After Trump followed through, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said "Congress must reclaim tariff authorities" so that they are not used solely at a president's discretion.
European leaders have said it is only for Denmark and Greenland to decide on matters concerning the territory, and Denmark said this week that it was increasing its military presence in Greenland in cooperation with allies.
"There is almost no better ally to the United States than Denmark," said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., while visiting Copenhagen with other members of Congress. "If we do things that cause Danes to question whether we can be counted on as a NATO ally, why would any other country seek to be our ally or believe in our representations?"
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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