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Donald Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs on European allies over their opposition to his proposed takeover of Greenland has sharply worsened relations between the United States and Europe, exposing growing mistrust within the transatlantic alliance.

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The US president announced that a 10% tariff on goods from eight European countries would take effect on 1 February, warning it could rise to 25% unless those governments agreed to the “complete and total purchase” of Greenland by the United States. The move stunned European leaders, who said it amounted to economic coercion against close allies.

European officials reacted with rare public unity and unusually blunt language. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the tariff threat “completely wrong”, while French President Emmanuel Macron said it was “unacceptable” and vowed that Europe would not be intimidated. Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said his country would not submit to “blackmail”.

The European Union responded by calling an emergency meeting of ambassadors from its 27 member states, underlining how seriously the threat was taken in Brussels. EU leaders warned that using tariffs to force territorial concessions undermines international law and damages trust between partners that have long relied on cooperation through Nato and shared trade rules.

At the heart of the dispute is Greenland’s strategic importance. The autonomous Danish territory sits between North America and the Arctic and plays a key role in missile early warning systems and Arctic monitoring. Trump has argued that US control of the island is essential for national security and has refused to rule out using force to acquire it.

European governments reject that argument, insisting that Arctic security should remain a collective Nato responsibility. Several countries, including France, Germany and the UK, have sent small numbers of troops to Greenland on reconnaissance missions, a move Trump has cited as justification for his tariff threat.

The confrontation has spilled over into trade policy, an area that has traditionally anchored EU–US relations. In Germany, senior MEP Manfred Weber said Trump’s actions had cast doubt on a recently negotiated EU–US trade deal, warning that approval could not proceed while tariff threats remained in place. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said such measures risked a “dangerous downward spiral” in transatlantic relations.

The rhetoric has also fuelled concern that the dispute is weakening Western unity at a time of heightened global tensions. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that China and Russia were likely to benefit from visible divisions between the US and Europe.

Washington has defended its position. US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said Denmark lacked the resources to manage Greenland effectively and claimed the territory would be safer and more prosperous under US control. Trump himself has long described tariffs as a preferred tool for forcing other countries to align with US priorities.

But critics on both sides of the Atlantic say the Greenland dispute marks a deeper shift in the US approach to allies. Gregory Meeks, the senior Democrat on the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused Trump of sabotaging America’s closest partnerships by manufacturing a foreign crisis.

Public opinion in Greenland has further complicated the standoff. Opinion polls suggest 85% of Greenlanders oppose joining the United States, and protests have taken place in Nuuk and Copenhagen calling for respect for Greenland’s right to self-determination.

The timing of Trump’s tariff threat has added to European frustration. It came just days after US and Danish officials agreed to form a high-level working group to discuss Greenland’s future, a move widely seen as an attempt to ease tensions. Instead, the tariffs have accelerated the dispute and hardened positions on both sides.

As Trump prepares to meet European leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the episode has left relations between the US and Europe more strained than at any point in recent years, raising fresh questions about the future of the transatlantic alliance.