NEW YORK, January 21. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump could trigger Armageddon by cancelling support to Ukraine in response to powerful trade restrictions being mulled by European countries over Greenland, Henry Farrell, a professor of democracy and international affairs at Johns Hopkins University, wrote in an opinion piece for The New York Times.
On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europe to use its "powerful anti-coercion mechanism," often referred to as a trade bazooka, as he addressed the World Economic Forum at Davos.
The tool, Farrell explained, allows EU officials to deploy trade quotas, deny access to financial markets, revoke intellectual property, ban investment and impose import and export restrictions on countries that try to coerce Europe as economic warfare. While the mechanism is very powerful in principle, it has never been "wheeled out on the economic battlefield," the expert noted. EU governments may also veto its use. "For now, the anti-coercion instrument is less a bazooka than a waterlogged firecracker," he added.
"The risk of using the instrument is that Mr. Trump will rush to Armageddon, immediately withdrawing all support from Ukraine. That would be a disaster for Europe. It would also be a disaster for America and for Mr. Trump, as markets would very likely crater and the trans-Atlantic relationship collapse," Farrell argued.
On January 17, US President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that the US would begin imposing 10% tariffs on the UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, France, and Sweden, which would remain in effect until the parties reach an agreement on the full and final acquisition of Greenland by Washington. The decision is set to take effect on February 1, with the duty rate increasing to 25% from June 1.