Trump scraps plans for additional tariffs on a number of European countries

US President Donald Trump has abandoned plans to impose tariffs on imports from the UK and seven EU member states over their stance on Greenland. He announced this on his social media platform Truth Social on January 21.

He explained his decision by saying that he had reached «a framework for a future agreement on Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic region» after a productive meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Davos.

On January 17, Trump threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on imports from the UK, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, and to increase it to 25% from June 1.

Earlier, on January 21, the European Parliament officially suspended the ratification process for the trade agreement with the US in protest against the US president’s threats. As The Guardian notes, this move is the strongest material response the bloc has shown in recent times.

Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee, said that until «the threats [regarding Greenland] disappear, there will be no possibility of compromise» on ratifying the agreement with the US. At the same time, he confirmed that this would not affect the EU’s promise to purchase $750 billion worth of energy, as the issue is not related to the tariff agreement.

It should be recalled that the EU considered far-reaching countermeasures, including tariffs worth €93 billion, in response to Donald Trump’s statements. This move could be a reactivation of measures that the bloc suspended after reaching a trade agreement with the United States in July last year. It could be implemented «very quickly» compared to some of the other options under discussion.