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Jan 18, 2026, 9:14 p.mJan 18, 2026, 9:34 p.m
EU Council President António Costa will convene a special summit after US President Donald Trump’s new tariff threats in the Greenland dispute. According to an EU official, Thursday is a possible date for a meeting of European heads of state and government. But so far the only thing that is certain is that there should be a physical meeting at the end of the week.
Costa said his consultations with member states on recent tensions over Greenland had highlighted a common assessment that tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and were incompatible with the EU-US trade deal.
One is prepared to defend oneself against any form of coercion. At the same time, they want to continue to work constructively with the USA. There is a common transatlantic interest in peace and security in the Arctic, particularly through cooperation within NATO.
“Trade bazooka” would be a possible option
During the discussions at European level on the reaction to the open attempt at blackmail by the US President, the activation of an EU instrument to ward off economic coercion – also known as a “trade bazooka” – is likely to be discussed. French President Emmanuel Macron will request to use the so-called Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), according to people close to the president.
The law allows the EU to take countermeasures when economic pressure is used to force political decisions. This would allow retaliatory tariffs on imports of US goods. One option is to decide on the retaliatory measures planned last year during the customs conflict. The plan at the time was to impose retaliatory tariffs on US imports worth around 93 billion euros.
US President wants to force the Greenland purchase with tariffs
Because of the Greenland dispute, Trump announced on Saturday that punitive tariffs of 10 percent would apply from February 1st and 25 percent tariffs from June 1st – on all goods sent to the USA – until an agreement on the purchase of Greenland was reached. Eight European NATO countries that recently sent soldiers on an exploratory mission to the island, including Germany, are affected by the tariff threat.
A tariff rate of 15 percent has currently applied to most EU exports to America since the summer. A crisis meeting of the representatives of the EU states at ambassadorial level was held late on Sunday afternoon. (sda/dpa)