Dispute over Greenland escalates "US arrogance knows no bounds" - the international press reacts so harshly

The US President wants to put pressure on Europe with punitive tariffs against close NATO partners - and is triggering harsh criticism worldwide.

In the conflict over Greenland, US President Donald Trump has announced tariffs against several European countries. This is how the international press reacted.

Tariff announcement in the Greenland disputeWhat does Trump's unprecedented move mean for Europe and Nato?

"Donald Trump's attempt to force Denmark and Europe to accept the annexation of Greenland is a shameful betrayal of the Western alliance, demonstrates a foolishly misguided understanding of American national interests and is a dangerous, destabilizing move in world politics. [...]"

"Imposing tariffs on NATO partners to force the seizure of a member state's territory is madness. The method may be the usual one, but this goal is so far beyond the acceptable that the alliance could be irreparably destroyed. [...]"

"To do so on the flimsy pretext that sending a few soldiers to Greenland creates a 'very dangerous situation for the security and survival of our planet' is despicable. The arrival of a few dozen soldiers for an exercise poses no military threat to the United States. The UK's point was to appease Trump and show that Nato can defend Greenland - it was not to suggest that we would go to war with him."

"In theory, the tariff costs would be borne by US consumers. In practice, however, British exporters face the dilemma of either paying for it themselves or seeing their US sales all but dry up as a result of price rises. [...]"

"Business leaders have faint hopes that the US president will be more bark than bite in his second term. In October, for example, he announced tariffs of 145 percent for China - only to later negotiate them down by two thirds."

"Company bosses will be secretly wondering whether this latest bombshell from Trump on his Truth Social platform will be another case of TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) or perhaps the first salvo in a dispute that will eventually be settled diplomatically. [...]"

"Having been through a similar scenario last year, exporters may be better prepared for what could follow. Unfortunately, however, companies are once again just spectators in an unprecedented geopolitical game."

"Donald Trump's latest threats against Greenland have triggered unusual movements in the US Congress. High-ranking party colleagues are now turning against him so clearly that Trump can no longer ignore this."

"This is a good sign for Denmark and Greenland. As long as Donald Trump is president of the USA, Danes should always be careful about getting carried away when American politicians come to Denmark on an official visit. This also applies to the eleven members of Congress who visited Copenhagen on Friday and Saturday in the middle of the Greenland crisis. Their warm words and expressions of support can quickly convey a false sense of security that the US is still the old, loyal ally we have known for decades. But the US is not."

"Trump's tariffs reek of desperation. The ownership of Greenland is now crucial for the security of the entire planet. The message comes from Donald Trump and shows great desperation."

"There's just one problem: Trump has shown that he suddenly puts his money where his mouth is. There are people who believe that Donald Trump has maneuvered himself into a corner. That the threat of punitive tariffs against the countries that have just sent soldiers to Greenland is the work of a desperate man."

"Donald Trump is engaging in pure blackmail of his closest allies. This is grossly negligent and dangerous."

"Putin sits contentedly at his long table in the Kremlin. He doesn't have to do anything. Nato is creaking at the seams. The West has to fight. And there is one main reason for the problems: Donald Trump."

"Because Trump is threatening another Nato country. He says that Norway and a number of other European countries will be hit with punitive tariffs from February 1 if he doesn't get Greenland. That is completely crazy. He is crossing a red line."

"Finland and seven other Nato states - Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands - wanted to at least partially appease Trump and defuse the situation surrounding the Greenland debate by sending troops. However, this calculation went completely wrong."

"Instead of seeing the troops as a sign of support for strengthening security in the Arctic, Trump interpreted them as a direct provocation."

"According to Trump's twisted logic, the presence of the USA's Nato allies on Danish territory is suddenly a 'threat to world peace'. The operation, intended as a gesture of peace, worked just as well as putting out flames with gasoline."

"Should we send a golden Dalahäst to Washington? Donald Trump is playing the tariff card again - this time to force eight European countries, including Sweden, to agree to the US taking over Greenland. The eight countries are unlikely to give in. But with his move Trump is drawing attention to something else: that Europe is not united on the issue of Denmark."

"Donald Trump is opting to escalate the trade dispute with Europe in order to achieve the annexation of Greenland."

Greenland at all costs, at the risk of provoking a trade war with Europe and sabotaging the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

"Donald Trump claims to 'protect security and world peace'. He believes that these countries are ungrateful to the United States, given all the money spent in the past and today to protect them. He again resorts to a very dubious argument of national security to justify his ambitions, referring to similar territorial ambitions of China and Russia, which have never been formulated."

"Enough is enough!", headlines the German newspaper Die Zeit. Donald Trump's tariff announcement is tantamount to an "economic declaration of war". "The EU must now react as one. Your chance: the loud-mouthedness of the US president."

"What the US president declared on Greenland this Saturday via his "Truth Social" platform represents an unprecedented escalation. He is blatantly threatening massive punitive tariffs of up to 25 percent against Denmark, but also Germany, Great Britain, France and many other Europeans if the Arctic island is not sold to him. [...]"

"The arrogance of the American government has long known no bounds. Trump's words have long been those of a classic imperialist. He no longer speaks to allies. He talks about them like vassals. This became clear when Trump's deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller publicly mocked the fact that no one would oppose the USA militarily on the Greenland issue anyway. It was his wife who really got the takeover ambitions rolling with a Greenland map under the US flag. Shortly after the military action in Venezuela, she posted it with the word: 'soon'."

"CNN" host Jake Tapper comments on Trump's tariff announcement: "This escalated quickly. [...] The fact that the president is focused on the United States taking over Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally that has lost more soldiers per capita in Afghanistan than any other NATO ally, really shocks a lot of people around the world and Republicans in Congress."