STOCKHOLM, January 19. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump's imposition of 10% tariffs on Sweden and a number of other countries is an absurdity that knows no bounds, the kingdom's Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said.
"We cannot allow the American president to use the tariff card in this way, on such serious issues as the seizure of Greenland. The absurdity, I think, knows no bounds," she was quoted as saying by the Swedish television channel SVT.
Sweden can handle this kind of pressure, Svantesson noted. "We have very stable public finances, and we can cope with various forms of external pressure," she said.
Stockholm Stock Exchange indices fell by around 2% at the opening of trading on Monday following Trump's statement. Similar declines were seen in Denmark and Norway.
Trump announced earlier on Truth Social that Washington would begin to impose import tariffs of 10% on the UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, France, and Sweden, which will remain in place until the parties reach agreements on full and complete acquisition of Greenland by the US. The decision will take effect on February 1, Trump said, adding that from June 1, the rate of tariffs would increase to 25%. Moreover, the head of the American administration actually criticized Europe's intention to send its forces to Greenland, calling it a very dangerous game.