The EU should refrain from responding to tariffs that the US has announced because of Greenland. This was stated by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday on the first day of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
- It would be very unwise, says Bessent about a possible EU response, according to the AFP news agency.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced that from February 1 he will impose a ten percent tariff on goods from Denmark and seven other European countries because of the situation surrounding Greenland. From June 1, that figure will increase to 25 percent if the countries do not comply with his desire to take over Greenland. From the German side, the measure has been described as "blackmail".
But Bessent says that Trump wants control over Greenland, as he sees the island as a "strategic asset". He says that "we will not outsource the security of the Western Hemisphere to anyone else".
An extraordinary EU summit has been called for Thursday to discuss a possible response. Both a billion-dollar package of counter-tariffs and the so-called "trade bazooka" - the anti-coercive instrument - have been mentioned as possible responses to Trump's latest tariff threats.
If the EU finds that the US is exercising economic coercion, the instrument can be used for countermeasures, which in the most far-reaching version could include completely excluding American suppliers from the EU.
The day before the EU summit, Trump may meet with European leaders, as he is expected to attend the summit in Davos. According to the Reuters news agency, Trump is expected to give a speech at the summit, which brings together the world's top political and economic leaders every year to discuss global challenges and collaborate on solutions.
However, the summit for the global elite also creates an annual debate about inequality. In total, around 3,000 participants from over 130 countries are expected in Davos.
/ritzau/
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