Allies Align, Congress Revolts: Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat Faces Broad Resistance

WASHINGTON, DC – Americans awoke Saturday to the sudden expansion of the trade war – not toward China or Russia, but directly through the heart of the transatlantic alliance.

By the time Washington poured its first cup of coffee, political and economic shockwaves were already racing across the Atlantic.

US President Donald Trump’s declaration that eight NATO allies would face escalating tariffs – explicitly linked to forcing a “complete and total purchase of Greenland” – landed like a thunderclap in European capitals.

The announcement rattled financial markets, stunned diplomats, and triggered a full-blown bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill that few in Washington anticipated – either this quickly or this publicly.

Within hours, senior Republicans and Democrats were using nearly identical language: bad for America, bad for business, and a strategic gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

“This is one of those moments where even veteran Hill hands are looking at each other and asking, ‘Did that really just happen?’” a senior Republican Senate aide told Kyiv Post. “You don’t threaten tariffs on NATO allies while floating military force and expect that to end quietly.”

Tariff threat tied to a territorial demand

Trump announced that goods from Denmark,  Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK would face a 10 percent tariff beginning Feb. 1, rising to 25 percent on June 1 – unless the countries acquiesce to US demands over Greenland.

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“These Tariffs will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, framing the move as repayment for decades of US security support and warning ominously that “World Peace is at stake.”

Administration officials have argued that Greenland is essential to US national security – from Arctic dominance to missile defense – even as Trump has refused to rule out the use of military force to seize the territory from NATO ally Denmark.

The problem, lawmakers from both parties say, is that the premise collapses under scrutiny.

“There is no need, or desire, for a costly acquisition or hostile military takeover of Greenland,” Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) said in a joint statement after meeting Danish and Greenlandic officials in Copenhagen.

“Our allies are eager to work with us – under the framework of long-standing treaties,” they wrote.

Capitol Hill revolt – bipartisan and blistering

Tillis, a close observer of NATO and a Republican rarely prone to public confrontation with his party’s president, went further.

“The fact that a small handful of ‘advisers’ are actively pushing for coercive action to seize the territory of an ally is beyond stupid,” Tillis wrote on X, adding, “It hurts the legacy of President Trump and undercuts all the work he has done to strengthen the NATO alliance over the years.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was equally blunt, calling the tariffs “unnecessary, punitive, and a profound mistake.”

“They will push our core European allies further away while doing nothing to advance US national security,” Murkowski warned, urging Congress to reassert its authority over Trump’s tariff powers so they are “not weaponized in ways that harm our alliances and undermine American leadership.”

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), and House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-NY) joined the criticism – part of a rare, cross-party chorus reflecting mounting alarm inside Congress.

A senior Democratic Senate aide put it starkly: “This isn’t about left versus right. This is about whether the United States still understands who its allies are.”

Europe closes ranks – fast

If the White House was testing European resolve, the response was swift and coordinated.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that tariffs tied to territorial pressure “would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” while emphasizing Europe’s “full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said “no intimidation nor threat will influence us.” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson rejected what he called “blackmail.”

Finnish President Alexander Stubb stressed that “among allies, issues are best resolved through discussion, not pressure.”

EU ambassadors are set to convene an emergency meeting on Sunday, and senior lawmakers in Brussels openly questioned whether the EU–US trade deal struck just months ago could survive.

NATO strain – and adversaries watching

At the heart of the backlash is fear that Trump’s gambit fractures the very alliance it purports to defend.

“This kind of rhetoric helps adversaries like Putin and Xi who want to see NATO divided,” Shaheen and Tillis warned – a line echoed repeatedly by European leaders and US lawmakers alike.

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) cautioned that taking Greenland by force would “incinerate” US ties with NATO and be “more disastrous for the president’s legacy than withdrawing from Afghanistan was for his predecessor.”

Behind the scenes, congressional aides say concern is growing that even the threat of military action is forcing NATO allies to divert resources – exactly the outcome Russia would welcome.

“From Moscow’s perspective, this is a dream scenario,” said a senior Senate foreign policy aide. “Allies distracted, trust eroding, and Washington fighting itself.”

On the ground in Greenland: a different reality

While Trump has suggested foreign troop movements are suspicious, Danish officials insist the deployments are routine NATO exercises – fully transparent and coordinated.

“There are no pressing security threats to Greenland,” Coons said in Copenhagen. “What we’re seeing is allies stepping up – not conspiring.”

Greenlanders themselves have been unequivocal. Thousands marched in Nuuk and Copenhagen over the weekend, waving flags and chanting “Greenland is not for sale,” underscoring what Danish leaders describe as a non-negotiable principle of sovereignty.

The tariffs’ legal footing is also shaky. Trump has not cited clear statutory authority, and the Supreme Court is expected to weigh the limits of his use of emergency economic powers – a decision that could undercut the entire strategy.

Trade experts warn that stacked tariffs could quickly push effective rates into the mid-20 percent range, raising costs for US consumers already anxious about inflation.

“At a time when families are worried about the cost of living, this pours gasoline on the fire,” said a senior House aide.

A defining test

For now, Congress is urging de-escalation.

“We urge the administration to turn off the threats and turn on diplomacy,” Shaheen and Tillis said – a message now echoing across party lines.

Whether the White House listens may determine far more than the outcome of a single trade dispute.

It could define the durability of NATO, the credibility of US leadership, and whether America’s alliances remain a strategic asset – or become collateral damage in a pressure campaign gone too far.

As one longtime Republican aide put it: “You can win negotiations with leverage. You don’t win them by threatening your friends.”

In Washington, that line no longer sounds theoretical. It sounds like a warning.