US President Donald Trump on Saturday imposed a 10 per cent tariff on European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies from February 1. This is the latest in a series of moves showing his firm desire to fully take over Greenland for "national security".
The tariffs on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland will also increase to 25 per cent from June 1 onwards.
This also comes after trilateral talks between the US, Denmark, and Greenland earlier this week, which saw Washington stand firm, and a working group established to continue the negotiations and prevent the worst-case scenario—a full military takeover.
However, America's aggressive stance on taking over Greenland has sparked speculations of how the EU, NATO, and Canada might respond in the worst-case scenario.
How the EU could hit tech and trade
The two major pressure points that could help the EU pressure the US are technology and trade.
In that regard, the EU is currently mulling whether to remove a number of its import duties on US goods, as per a July 2025 trade deal, as well as to continue zero duties for US lobsters as part of a 2020 deal, a Reuters report said.
Though the idea behind the move is to reportedly protest against the Trump administration's desire for Greenland, the bloc remains unclear on its future moves, as voting on the trade changes was postponed from January 26-27.
Another move in the EU's arsenal is a 2023 legislation called the Anti-Coercion Instrument, which protects the bloc from economic coercion by third countries (non-members).
This coercion is defined as pressure from those countries that affect "trade or investment".
Experts say that the language around the law allow it to be used by the EU to impose tariffs, trade curbs, foreign investment curbs, and other such penalties on those countries.
A third option for the EU would be special fines or bans on the European operations of US tech companies, such as Google, Meta, and X.
While this would hit close to home for the US, it would likely cause the least reciprocal damage on EU nations as well—short-term pain (some minor form of retaliation) for long-term gain ('saving Greenland').
How NATO nations could try saving the bloc
The worst-case scenario would have a worse effect on NATO, as its laws have no proper solution for the bizarre concept of a member country taking over parts of another.
In fact, it would reportedly lead to the bloc itself breaking down.
In last-ditch efforts to prevent the death of the NATO, it is speculated that the European members of the bloc could possibly limit or close US bases on their soil, in a bid to restrict its military power.
According to a Global News Canada report, Ottawa, on the other hand, would likely have to boost its defences in the Arctic to fend off Washington's economic and military pressure.
"That may include trying to decouple from NORAD, a joint northern defence network with the US, the report added, noting that this would massively increase Canada's defence spending.