Donald Trump and the US will receive a response from a united EU if the incoming president takes seriously threats of economic sanctions against Denmark. This will be the result of a musketeer agreement that the EU's member states entered into a little over a year ago with the aim of deterring third countries from tyrannizing countries in the union.
- It is something that has felt compelled to do, and it has been aimed at China, which has been much more covertly and subtly involved in hitting some exports, but not as explicitly a threat as this, says associate professor Jens Ladefoged Mortensen at the Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen.
The incoming US president said at a press conference on Tuesday that he wants Greenland, and he is ready to impose tariffs on Danish goods if he does not get his way. He will not reject military force either.
- He is completely breaking with the set of rules that has prevailed since the Second World War, says Jens Ladefoged Mortensen, who is shocked by the statements:
- We are allies, we are close allies, it is hard to believe your own ears. When he throws this out, is it something that has been thought out? Has it been cleared? We have many questions.
The EU will respond again
According to the lecturer, an American president will not be able to implement it without the EU Commission having to respond to it.
- If the EU is to make sense and live up to its treaty obligations, the EU Commission must take countermeasures, i.e. counter-tariffs. Then we will also bring it into the WTO, and then take up the matter as an urgent matter. But it is difficult with threats. That is only if it happens, says Jens Ladefoged.
The rules that the lecturer refers to are the rules that govern the World Trade Organization WTO, which was established in 1995 as a replacement for the GATT agreement (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) from 1947.
The purpose of international cooperation is to facilitate trade in goods and services and create a stable framework for producers, exporters and importers.
However, Trump has already become angry with this system. He has blocked the WTO's Appellate Body from getting new judges, thus effectively paralyzing it. There is a loophole in the WTO rules so that a country can refer to national security. Trump has done that before.
- He will probably declare it a national security interest, and then he can argue that he is allowed to do whatever he wants. But national security cannot be interpreted as anything. So he is breaking all the rules. The entire set of rules, says Jens Ladefoged Mortensen.
Trump did not mention at the press conference on Tuesday which goods he might impose tariffs on. Jens Ladefoged Mortensen believes that a conflict could cause the US to withdraw completely from international cooperation on trade in the WTO.
- He has announced that he would like to withdraw the US from that system. So we cannot file a lawsuit, and they will reject it, and Trump may use it as an opportunity to withdraw from the WTO.
/ritzau/
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
