Donald Trump has linked his campaign to secure US control of Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize, as the European Union prepares a possible trade response to threatened US tariffs aimed at forcing Denmark to allow a sale of the Arctic territory.
In a written message to Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, the US president said that after Norway did not award him the Peace Prize for what he described as having stopped “8 Wars”, he no longer felt obliged to think “purely of Peace”, while insisting peace would remain “predominant”.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. The Nobel Foundation’s rules do not allow the prize to be transferred, shared or revoked, after Machado handed her medal to Trump during a White House meeting last week, according to reporting on the episode.
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The dispute has added strain to transatlantic relations already tested by the war in Ukraine and arguments over defence spending inside Nato. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but has far-reaching self-government under an autonomy arrangement introduced in 2009.
Trump has argued that Denmark cannot protect Greenland from Russia or China and questioned Denmark’s right to the territory, writing that the world would not be secure unless the United States had “complete and total control” of the island.
On Saturday, Trump said the United States would impose escalating tariffs from 1 February on Denmark and several other European countries — Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland — as well as Britain and Norway, until Washington is allowed to buy Greenland.
EU leaders are due to meet at an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday, 22 January, to consider how to respond. One option under discussion is a package of retaliatory tariffs on about €93 billion ($108 billion) of US imports that could take effect automatically on 6 February after a six-month suspension expires.
A second option is use of the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument, a legal tool that entered into force in late 2023 and has not yet been deployed. It can be used to respond to what the EU defines as economic coercion, including measures affecting trade and investment.
Officials briefed on discussions said the tariff package appeared to command broader support as an initial response than the anti-coercion mechanism, where views among member states were described as mixed.
Speaking in Berlin, Germany’s finance minister, Lars Klingbeil, and France’s finance minister, Roland Lescure, said Europe would respond jointly to any further US tariffs. Klingbeil said Germany and France would not allow themselves to be “blackmailed”, while Lescure said threats between allies were unacceptable.
In London, Sir Keir Starmer urged calm discussions with Washington over Greenland. The British prime minister said he did not believe Trump was considering military action to seize the island and argued that a tariff war would harm both sides, adding that Britain would not retaliate against new US tariffs.
The confrontation has also focused attention on Greenland’s strategic role in Arctic security. The United States operates Pituffik Space Base in north-west Greenland, an installation used for missile warning and space surveillance, under long-standing defence arrangements with Denmark.
Greenland’s government has publicly rejected any US takeover and said its defence should be supported through Nato. In comments reported earlier this month, Greenlandic leaders argued that security questions should be handled within the alliance rather than through a transfer of sovereignty.
Financial markets reacted to the renewed trade threat, with investors shifting towards perceived safe-haven assets and analysts warning of heightened uncertainty for European exporters if last year’s tariff stand-off resumes.
European industry figures have also begun framing the episode as a test of the continent’s capacity to reduce dependence on US security and economic decisions. In a separate Reuters report, the head of Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems said shifting transatlantic ties should push Europe to concentrate on its own strengths and pursue greater independence.
For the EU, the immediate problem is how to deter new US levies without triggering a broader escalation that would hit growth on both sides of the Atlantic. The tariff list under consideration would target a large value of American exports, while anti-coercion measures could extend into services, public procurement and investment — areas where US firms have substantial exposure to the European market.
The Brussels summit will indicate whether EU governments opt for rapid, automatic retaliation or a broader use of new coercion counter-measures designed for political pressure campaigns.
