NZ Herald Headlines | Saturday, January 17, 2026.
US and European tensions rise as Trump threatens tariffs on opposition. Soundspalsh kicks off in Raglan this weekend.
Donald Trump is considering placing tariffs on countries that do not support his plan to annex Greenland.
The US President has been vocal about his aspiration to acquire the Danish territory, repeatedly saying he would buy it and failing to rule out military action to take the island by force.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said during a roundtable at the White House on Friday.
Trump has intensified his calls for Greenland to become part of the United States after the success of his raid on Nicolas Maduro’s compound in Caracas on January 3. The Venezuelan leader is currently in US custody and has been charged with drug offences.
Denmark and Greenland continue to insist the semi-autonomous Danish territory is not for sale, with ministers from both countries meeting with US Vice-President JD Vance at the White House on Wednesday.
The Trump administration and Greenland still have “fundamental” differences over the future of the island, but will continue to talk, said Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Motzfeldt after the meeting.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen (left) and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt have held high-stakes talks at the White House. Photo / AFP
Trump used tariffs as a negotiating tool to get other countries to acquiesce to his demands throughout his second term.
His comments were made just days after the President said he would impose a 25% tax on imports to the US from countries that do business with Iran.
Since returning to office, Trump has continued to insist the US needs to acquire the semi-autonomous territory for national security reasons.
Earlier this week, Trump said anything less than the arctic island being in US hands would be “unacceptable”.
European allies, including British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, have supported Denmark and Greenland’s position that the region is not up for sale.
On Wednesday, US officials said Trump planned to take action on Greenland “within weeks or months”, according to USA Today.
Several European countries announced they would send small numbers of military personnel to the island at Denmark’s request.
Officials from France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway and Sweden began arriving in the Arctic island on Thursday.
Thomas Dans, Trump’s Arctic commissioner, said in an interview that the President wanted to move to an acquisition “at high speed”.
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