by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
AMSTERDAM/NUUK (Worthy News) – The European Union was considering Sunday to hit the United States with 93 billion euros ($108 billion) worth of tariffs or restrict American companies from the bloc’s market in response to U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s threats to allies opposed to his efforts to take over Greenland.
The retaliation measures were intended to give European leaders leverage in pivotal meetings with Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, according to officials.
Ambassadors from the European Union’s 27 countries convened on Sunday for an emergency meeting to discuss their response to Trump’s tariff threat.
The news emerged hours after the foreign minister of the Netherlands, long regarded as a close ally of the United States, accused Trump on Sunday of conducting “blackmail” to allies over Greenland.
Foreign Minister David van Weel reacted on Dutch television to Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs on European allies until they agree to sell Greenland to the United States.
“It’s blackmail what he’s doing … and it’s not necessary. It doesn’t help the alliance [NATO], and it also doesn’t help Greenland,” Van Weel said in an interview on Dutch television.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said additional 10 percent import tariffs would take effect on 1 February on goods from “Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and Great Britain” countries that have agreed to contribute personnel to a NATO military alliance exercise on Greenland.
Van Weel said the Greenland mission was intended to show the U.S. and Europe’s willingness to help defend Greenland, and he was opposed to Trump making a connection with diplomacy over the island and trade.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a blunt warning to Turkey on Wednesday after Israel struck a Syrian military airbase that Jerusalem says Ankara was preparing to use for an expanded military presence in Syria.
Democratic socialist Angie Nixon scored a surprise victory Tuesday in Florida’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary, defeating heavily funded establishment favorite Alex Vindman and adding to a growing series of socialist and far-left victories reshaping Democratic politics across the country.
The United States government passed a sobering milestone Wednesday as the national debt topped $40 trillion, up from $39 trillion only five months ago.
The U.S. Department of Justice plans to deploy approximately 1,000 federal election monitors across the country for November’s midterm elections, marking what officials say will be a record-sized monitoring operation.
President Donald Trump announced what he called an “Economic D-Day” against Iran on Wednesday, warning that countries, banks, businesses and governments that continue providing Tehran with economic lifelines could themselves face severe U.S. consequences.
President Donald Trump has paused sweeping 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian imports for three days, giving Washington and Ottawa additional time to finalize what Trump says is a new trade agreement between the neighboring countries.
At least nine people, including five Bangladeshi nationals and a child, were killed Wednesday when fire and thick smoke swept through a building housing several hotels in Kolkata, highlighting broader concerns about lax enforcement of fire-safety regulations in one of the world’s most densely populated cities and across India.