French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday in Paris denounced what he described as United States President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on European countries that oppose his reported efforts to acquire the Danish territory of Greenland, stating in a post on X in both French and English that such “tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context.”
Macron said Europeans will respond in a “united and coordinated manner” if the reported tariff threats materialize, asserting in the same post that European countries will ensure that “European sovereignty is upheld.”
Macron added that he will engage with European partners “in this spirit,” referring to a coordinated response to the reported tariff threats linked to opposition to a possible U.S. takeover of Greenland.
Trump previously stated that he would consider imposing tariffs on nations that do not support U.S. efforts to acquire Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory in the Arctic, prompting criticism and diplomatic pushback from several European officials.
The French presidency did not immediately release additional details on any concrete measures that European governments might take in response to potential U.S. tariffs related to the Greenland issue.
Officials in Denmark, which holds sovereignty over Greenland while the island maintains broad self-rule, have publicly rejected the idea of selling the territory to the United States, and European leaders have cited respect for Danish and Greenlandic positions in their statements.
Diplomatic sources in Europe stated that discussions among European Union member states on how to address the reported U.S. tariff threats remained ongoing as of Saturday, with no joint formal decision announced at that time.
Greenland, which lies between the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans, holds strategic military importance and significant natural resources, factors that analysts and officials have cited as reasons for heightened international interest in the territory.
European officials have linked their stance on Greenland to broader debates over transatlantic trade policy, the use of tariffs in political disputes, and the preservation of national and regional sovereignty within Europe.
Macron’s post on X followed earlier media reports that detailed Trump’s comments about potential tariffs and his interest in Greenland, which U.S. officials have discussed in the context of national security, economic opportunity, and Arctic strategy.
As of Saturday, neither the White House nor U.S. trade officials had publicly detailed specific tariff measures targeting European countries over their positions on Greenland, and European institutions continued to monitor developments in U.S. policy statements.
European Union diplomats indicated that they would consider any formal U.S. tariff moves related to the Greenland dispute within existing EU mechanisms for trade defense and collective response to external economic pressures.