Oslo: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that her country will not negotiate over its sovereignty, responding to US threats of tariffs in a dispute over Greenland.
Frederiksen noted that Denmark has never sought any conflicts. However, Denmark is now being threatened by its closest ally, both in terms of Danish territory and Greenlandic self-determination, she told the parliament, Xinhua News Agency reported.
On the tariffs, the United States has threatened to impose, Frederiksen said a trade war would cost jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. “As much as we must warn against it, we must also prepare for it,” she said.
In a social media post over the weekend, Trump said the United States would impose a 10 per cent tariff from Feb 1 on goods from eight European countries opposing his ambition to control Greenland. He warned the tariff rate would rise to 25 per cent on June 1 and remain in place until a deal is reached for the “complete and total purchase” of Greenland.
The remarks have intensified a backlash that has been building across Europe. EU leaders will hold an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday to address the tensions, European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said Monday. EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the bloc could renew a pending tariff package or deploy anti-coercion measures.
On Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the sovereignty of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must be “unequivocally” respected, stressing that the issue is of “utmost importance” to the transatlantic relationship as US tariff threats add fresh strain to ties.
Von der Leyen made the remarks in a post on social media platform X after meeting a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“I also addressed the need to unequivocally respect the sovereignty of Greenland and of the Kingdom of Denmark,” she wrote.
On trade, von der Leyen pushed back against the tariff approach, calling transatlantic trade and investment a major asset for both the European Union (EU) and U.S. economies and saying tariffs run counter to shared interests.
Her remarks came as tensions have risen after US President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on a group of European countries supporting Greenland, prompting EU officials and member states to consider possible responses while keeping diplomatic channels open.
Earlier, von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa said the EU stood in full solidarity with Denmark and Greenland and warned that tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a “dangerous downward spiral.”
(IANS)
