LONDON, January 19. /TASS/. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told US President Donald Trump that his decision to impose tariffs on eight European countries, including the UK, over Greenland is wrong.
"The Prime Minister had a number of calls with leaders this afternoon. He spoke to Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen; President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. He then spoke to President Trump," a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
"In all his calls, the Prime Minister reiterated his position on Greenland. He said that security in the High North is a priority for all NATO allies in order to protect Euro-Atlantic interests. He also said that applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is wrong," the statement reads.
On January 17, Trump announced on Truth Social that the United States would impose 10% tariffs on the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, France, and Sweden, which will remain in force until agreements are reached on "the full and final acquisition of Greenland" by Washington. The decision will take effect on February 1 and the tariff will increase to 25% on June 1.
Greenland is part of Denmark as an autonomous territory. In 1951, Washington and Copenhagen signed the Greenland Defense Agreement in addition to their NATO alliance obligations. Under the treaty, the US undertook to defend the island against possible aggression.