World leaders raised alarm after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on European allies in an attempt to pressure Denmark into negotiating over Greenland.
The move is sparking protests across the Arctic and sharp rebuke from Europe and Canada.
On Saturday, thousands of people marched through snow and ice in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, chanting “Greenland is not for sale,” waving national flags.
Police described the protest as the biggest they have seen in the city.
About 825 kilometers away, many people gathered in Iqaluit, Nunavut, in solidarity with the Greenlanders.
“Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland,” said the protesters in Inuktut as they marched for an hour in the freezing, windy environment.
The protests came as Trump announced that he would impose a 10 percent import tax starting next month on goods from eight European countries.
These countries include Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland, due to their opposition to US control of Greenland.
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The tariffs will rise to 25 percent on June 1 if no deal is reached on what Trump called a “Full and Complete Purchase of Greenland.”
The president suggested the tariffs be increased to force negotiations over Greenland, an independent territory of NATO ally Denmark that Trump says is vital to US national security.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France stands firmly behind Greenland’s sovereignty and rejects the use of trade threats.
“Threats of tariffs are unacceptable and have no place in this context,” Macron wrote on social media, adding that Europeans would respond “in a united and united manner” if the measures were confirmed.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the future of Greenland is for the people of Greenland and Denmark to decide.
“Applying taxes to allies in pursuit of the collective security of NATO partners is absolutely wrong,” Starmer said, adding that the issue would be raised directly with the US administration.
Bob Rae, Canada’s former ambassador to the United Nations, also weighed in on Trump’s announcement.
The threat of a tariff would mark a major rift between the US and its NATO allies.
Greenland already hosts the Pituffik Space Base operated by the US under a 1951 defense treaty with Denmark, which supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance for the US and NATO.
“There’s no sign of Trump’s war of violence against Greenland and Denmark stopping. It’s not ‘security’ like Venezuela didn’t talk about ‘drug terrorism.’ Both are about seizing control and looting.”
He added, “No country, including my own, Canada, is safe or secure.”
The threat of a tariff would mark a major rift between the US and its NATO allies.
Trump is expected to face questions about the proposed tariffs and Greenland later this week.
He is scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, along with several European leaders who have threatened to impose tariffs.
– Via files from The Canadian Press
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