Keir Starmer slams Donald Trump ‘wrong’ in new ‘urgent’ call over Greenland tariffs

Downing Street confirmed the Prime Minister held urgent calls with Denmark, EU and NATO leaders before speaking to President Trump as eight NATO countries issued joint statement slamming tariff threats

Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned US President Donald Trump’s tariffs targeting countries that oppose his Greenland takeover bid as “wrong” during a series of urgent calls this afternoon (January 18), including one directly with the US President.

The Prime Minister arranged the emergency conversation with the American leader after NATO nations, including the UK, accused Mr Trump of threatening a “dangerous downward spiral” in relations over his Greenland tariff warnings.

Downing Street revealed: “The Prime Minister had a number of calls with leaders this afternoon. He spoke to Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen; President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. He then spoke to President Trump.

“In all his calls, the Prime Minister reiterated his position on Greenland. He said that security in the High North is a priority for all NATO allies in order to protect Euro-Atlantic interests. He also said that applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is wrong.”

Yesterday evening, the US President warned he would impose 10% tariffs on nations including the UK for resisting his planned acquisition of the territory, reports the Mirror. He also threatened to increase the levies on NATO allies to 25% by June 1 if an agreement to purchase Greenland isn’t secured by then.

Keir Starmer and his Cabinet ministers have denounced the move as “completely wrong”. In a unified response today, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement hitting back at the threats.

They stated: “As members of NATO, we are committed to strengthening Arctic security as a shared transatlantic interest. The pre-coordinated Danish exercise ‘Arctic Endurance’ conducted with Allies, responds to this necessity.

“It poses no threat to anyone. We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland.

“Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.

“We will continue to stand united and coordinated in our response. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.”

Earlier, UK’s Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy asserted that the UK’s stance on Greenland is non-negotiable – despite Trump’s threats. Ms Nandy clarified the government’s opposition – but emphasised that Britain will not engage in a “war of words” with America and escalate tensions.

Speaking to the BBC, she said: “This conversation about tariffs, we believe it is wrong, it is deeply unhelpful and we believe it is counterproductive.” On Sky News, the Cabinet minister added: “Our PM has been unequivocal, it is the position of the UK that the future of Greenland depends on the wishes of the people of Greenland and the people of the kingdom of Denmark. “

When pressed on whether the UK government would retaliate, Ms Nandy said: “Before we talk about raising the temperature I think we need to remember the relationship with the US is incredibly important to us and always has been.” She added: “Our position on Greenland is non-negotiable, that we’ve made that very clear, and we’ll continue to make that clear.”

She continued: “President Trump’s position on Greenland is different, notwithstanding that it is in our collective interest to work together and not to start a war of words. French President Emmanuel Macron said he would not bow to “intimidation” and Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said: “We will not let ourselves be blackmailed.”

Today, EU ambassadors have been summoned for emergency talks over the threats.

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