President Trump said Saturday on social media that he would impose a 10% import tax on eight European countries until “a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
The president said the countries are Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland.
He said the new 10% duties would be raised to 25% on June 1 if a deal is not in place.
The European Union is the largest trading partner and the largest source of imports for the U.S.
On Friday, the president said he was considering tariffs on countries that “did not go along with” his plans to acquire Greenland.
The U.S. already has a deal with the EU, capping tariffs at 15%, and an agreement with the U.K. that caps levies on imports at 10%.
“China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!”
He called joint security exercises around Greenland a “very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet.”
Mr. Trump has repeatedly asserted that the U.S. needs to annex the Arctic island for national security reasons.
“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,” he wrote.
• Mary McCue Bell can be reached at mbell@washingtontimes.com.
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