Eight NATO allies issue joint rebuke to Trump's tariff threats

Monday 19 January 2026 - 09:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Eight NATO allies issue joint rebuke to Trump's tariff threats

Eight NATO partners deployed troops to Greenland for Denmark-led Operation Arctic Endurance, releasing a joint statement Sunday affirming "full solidarity" with Denmark and Greenland. They warned that U.S. tariff threats could trigger a "dangerous downward spiral" in transatlantic relations. The multinational effort, launched January 15, involves Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland the exact nations President Trump targeted with escalating duties starting February 1 over their Arctic presence.

The allies' declaration stressed their commitment to bolstering Arctic security as a shared transatlantic priority. "This pre-coordinated Danish exercise with our Allies addresses that need and poses no threat to anyone," they stated, emphasizing dialogue rooted in sovereignty and territorial integrity while rejecting Trump's label of the deployment as a "very dangerous game." By January 18, over 100 soldiers were at Nuuk and more than 100 at Kangerlussuaq, per NATO officials.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his nation's 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade special forces had begun operations at Kangerlussuaq, pledging added land, air, and sea assets. Germany's 15-soldier reconnaissance team, however, pulled out Saturday after completing what the Bundeswehr called an assessment mission.

Trump's tariff announcement prompted Cyprus, holding the EU rotating presidency, to call an emergency Brussels meeting of EU ambassadors Sunday afternoon. European leaders now eye activating the bloc's anti-coercion instrument, a trade defense tool against economic pressure from non-members. Bernd Lange, head of the European Parliament's international trade committee, demanded its immediate use, dubbing Trump's move a "new dimension" in wielding tariffs as political weapons. Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party, said ratifying the July 2025 EU-U.S. trade deal is "not possible at this stage."

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen kicked off a diplomatic tour Sunday in Oslo, heading to London Monday and Stockholm Thursday to push NATO's enlarged Arctic role. Bipartisan backlash erupted in Washington. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski called the tariffs "unnecessary, punitive, and profoundly wrong." Fellow Republican Thom Tillis deemed them "a gift to Putin, Xi, and others who want to see NATO divided." Democrat Chris Coons warned Trump's policy "threatens to blow up the NATO alliance."

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas noted that China and Russia "must be delighted," adding: "If Greenland's security is at stake, we should handle this within NATO."