Europe freezes approval of the US trade deal over Trump’s push to buy Greenland and new tariff threats
The European Parliament has halted approval of the transatlantic trade agreement reached with the United States last July, citing President Donald Trump’s demand to buy Greenland and his threats to slap fresh tariffs on European goods.
The decision came Wednesday, hours after Trump used his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos to push for “immediate negotiations” over acquiring the Arctic region.
Bernd Lange, who chairs the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA), said Trump’s actions violate the agreement signed at Turnberry last year.
“There was a breaking of the Scotland deal by President Trump,” Lange said, pointing to both the new tariff threats of 10% to 25% and Trump’s Greenland ambitions. “We will hold on the procedure until there is clarity regarding Greenland and the threats,” he added.
EU trade chair slams Trump’s Greenland plan and tariff threat
Lange accused Trump of “using tariffs as an instrument of political pressure” to get what he wants.“He wants to have Greenland as part of the United States as quick as possible,” Lange said.
Though Trump promised during his Davos speech not to use military force, Lange called that only “a small positive element.” The tariff threat, according to him, is still very real. “There will be no possibility of compromise” unless the threat is removed.
The proposed duties are seen as a direct violation of the EU-US trade pact terms. Lange warned that Europe will not proceed until Washington scraps the tariff plan. He called Trump’s actions “an attack against the economic and territorial sovereignty of the European Union.” On Monday, INTA will debate using the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), a sweeping trade weapon created to counter exactly these kinds of pressure tactics.
The ACI, often referred to as a “trade bazooka,” would let Europe severely limit American firms’ access to the EU market. This includes kicking U.S. companies out of tenders, slowing capital flows, restricting foreign investment, and cutting market access across the bloc.
“This was created exactly for such a case when a foreign country [uses] tariffs and investment for political and coercive pressure,” Lange said.
White House pushes back as ECB warns of monetary spillover
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer hit back, blaming the EU for delays. “The EU has failed to implement its commitments under the deal despite rapid US moves to reduce its tariffs on the EU last year,” Greer told CNBC.
He said Europe is using unrelated political issues as excuses for noncompliance. “The United States and EU have—and will always have—a number of foreign policy and economic matters that fall outside the four corners of the deal.”
Joachim Nagel, the Bundesbank President and a European Central Bank official, also spoke to CNBC on Wednesday. He called the standoff “a very problematic situation,” and said the tariff fight might spill over into monetary policy.
“It could maybe be a game changer for monetary policy in the euro zone,” he said. Still, Nagel expressed some optimism, saying, “I still have the hope that we can find a solution, a joint understanding.”
Shortly after the suspension was announced, Trump caved in and posted a statement on Truth Social, saying he had reached “the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland” after a “very productive meeting” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
He claimed the deal would benefit both the United States and NATO nations, and said he would not impose the tariffs scheduled for February 1st.
“Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland,” Trump wrote. He named Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and others as the negotiation team, reporting directly to him. “Further information will be made available as discussions progress,” Trump said. The post got pinned on his profile too.
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