Trump’s Greenland tariffs spark calls for unprecedented EU ‘bazooka’ countermeasure |
BRUSSELS — The European Union faced calls on Sunday to implement a never-before-used range of economic countermeasures known as the “Anti-Coercion Instrument,” as part of the bloc’s response to US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats against European allies over Greenland.
That weapon — never used before and dubbed the EU’s trade “bazooka” — allows for curbing imports of goods and services.
Trump vowed on Saturday to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on EU members Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, along with Britain and Norway, until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland, escalating a row over the future of Denmark’s vast Arctic island.
All the countries, already subject to tariffs of 10 and 15 percent, have sent small numbers of military personnel to Greenland.
Cyprus, holder of the rotating six-month EU presidency, summoned ambassadors to an emergency meeting in Brussels on Sunday, which EU diplomats said was due to start at 5 p.m. (1600 GMT).
In a joint statement Sunday, all eight countries targeted by Trump said they would “stand united” in their response.
“Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden said. “We will continue to stand united and coordinated in our response. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.”
A source close to French President Emmanuel Macron said he was working to coordinate a European response and was pushing for activation of the Anti-Coercion Instrument, which could limit access to public tenders in the bloc or restrict trade in services in which the US has a surplus with the........