Trans-Atlantic Rift Over Greenland
US President Donald Trump says he's determined to get Greenland from Denmark. And threats of tariffs on countries that oppose his plan are opening a trans-Atlantic rift, with Europe rallying around Denmark.
Title: US-Europe Tensions
REPORTER:
Europe is rallying around Denmark as US President Donald Trump tries to take its Arctic territory Greenland. Threats of tariffs and counter-tariffs are crossing the Atlantic, as Greenlanders themselves protest the idea of their home being sold to the US.
REPORTER:
There’s an emergency meeting going on in this European Council building in Brussels. The Trump Administration is threatening extra US tariffs on eight NATO allies opposed to his goal of buying Greenland—10% from February, and maybe up to 25% if they don't give in.
REPORTER:
EU leaders are rallying around the Danish territory and are threatening to hit back.
REPORTER:
According to the Financial Times, European countries could put upwards of a hundred billion US dollars of tariffs on the United States and maybe even limit US companies’ access to the common market. Analysts see it as a major stress test for Europe’s alliance with the United States.
REPORTER:
This has really become high-level politics. This is no longer just a matter between Denmark, Greenland, and the United States. This has become a matter between Europe and the United States. This has become a matter of the future of NATO, but also about the solidarity within the European Union. This is probably like the worst crisis in Danish foreign policy since the Second World War.
REPORTER:
Greenland is strategically located in the Arctic with natural resources like rare earths. Trump says if the US doesn’t take Greenland, rivals Russia or China will — a claim analysts say has little evidence.
Donald Trump (PRESIDENT):
I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that.
REPORTER:
But EU leaders say threatening tariffs is no way to treat allies—and that taking Greenland would actually send a different message to NATO’s adversaries.
REPORTER:
An invasion of Greenland by the U.S. administration would make Putin the happiest man in the world. Why? First, because it would in some way legitimize his invasion and his unilateral action and questioning of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. And second, because I very much fear that if such an invasion of Greenland by the United States were to occur, it would spell the death of NATO.
REPORTER:
In Greenland, many are angry at the idea of a unilateral takeover. Thousands of people—a significant chunk of Greenland’s population—gathered outside the US consulate in the capital Nuuk to protest.
Greenland Resident:
I think he has lost his mind. I hope that there soon will be some clever, more clever people in the States who will tell him no, no, no, it's not going to work this thing.
REPORTER:
Trump’s idea of a US-ruled Greenland is far from done: a Congressional delegation including members of Trump’s own Republican party has been to Denmark to cool the temperature.
REPORTER:
But with Trump’s February deadline approaching, this is a fast-moving situation. And if there are to be more cracks in the trans-Atlantic alliance, they could start forming soon, with Trump and other leaders scheduled to meet in Switzerland this week for the World Economic Forum. For now, at least, these opposing US allies have drawn a line—and show signs of sticking to it.
John Su and John Van Trieste for TaiwanPlus.
