On Saturday, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on European countries that oppose his plans to take control of Greenland. EU ambassadors are convening an emergency meeting later Sunday to respond to the tariff threat.
Macron responded later Saturday by saying: “Tariff threats are unacceptable.”
“No intimidation or threat will influence us,” Macron said in a post on X. “Europeans will respond in a united and coordinated manner … We will ensure that European sovereignty is upheld,” he added.
According to a person close to Macron, the U.S. approach “raises the question” of how valid the trade deal Brussels reached with Washington last summer is.
The European Parliament is already poised to take action by blocking the ratification of that EU-U.S. trade agreement — signed by Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last July. Conservative party chief Manfred Weber said on Saturday that it was “not possible at this stage” to approve the deal.
Activating the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument would be a much bigger step as it would mean deploying a mechanism originally designed for unfriendly states against the EU’s biggest ally. The fact that using the instrument is now being openly discussed speaks to how seriously Europeans are taking Trump’s claims against Greenland.