European Arctic Coalition (Informal)

Force in Play

Deploying forces to Greenland

The United States has not acquired sovereign territory since 1917, when it purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million. Now, after President Trump announced on January 17 that he will impose 10% tariffs on eight European nations starting February 1—escalating to 25% by June 1 unless a deal is reached for Greenland—the transatlantic alliance faces its gravest crisis since World War II. In an unprecedented show of unity, the leaders of Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement condemning the tariffs as undermining transatlantic relations and risking a 'dangerous downward spiral.' An estimated 10,000 Danes and 5,000 Greenlanders—nearly 10% of Greenland's population—protested in the streets. On January 19, Trump sent a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre stating he no longer felt an 'obligation to think purely of Peace' after the Norwegian Nobel Committee did not award him the Nobel Peace Prize, explicitly linking his perceived snub to his Greenland demands.

Updated Jan 20