President Donald Trump's push for a US takeover of Greenland now involves a threat of tariffs against countries opposing the move.
"I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security," Trump said Friday during remarks at an event dedicated to improving healthcare in the US rural areas.
Major European countries pushed back against Trump's warning that he will take over the Danish-controlled Arctic island by force or other means. US and Danish teams met in Washington on 14 January but failed to reach an agreement, with Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen complaining: "It's clear that the (US) president has this wish of conquering Greenland."
Any potential tariff threat would apply to the EU, rather than its individual members. The US and the EU last year concluded an agreement capping the US tariff rate on imports from the EU at 15pc, with the EU pledging to reduce to zero tariffs on many US agricultural and industrial products.
The European Parliament has yet to ratify that agreement, and some lawmakers already have proposed tying the future approval to a disavowal of US claims on Greenland, a self-governing territory under Denmark's control.
A delegation of 11 US senators from both parties is visiting Denmark on Friday "to thank our NATO allies and stand firm against unnecessary threats to trusted partners", senator Chris Coons (D-Delaware) said.
