Macron on Trumps tariff threats and intimidation

By benadeta mwaura - Reporter

Kenya, January 18, 2026 - French President Emmanuel Macron has issued a firm warning against what he described as intimidation and economic coercion, after former U.S. President Donald Trump threatened sweeping tariffs on European countries in a bid to force negotiations over Greenland.

In a strongly worded statement, Macron said France would not be influenced by threats “in Ukraine, in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world,” underscoring Europe’s commitment to sovereignty, international law, and collective security. “Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context,” Macron said, adding that Europe would respond in a “united and coordinated manner” should the measures be confirmed.

Greenland dispute escalates

Macron’s remarks follow a lengthy statement by Trump in which he argued that the United States has subsidized European security for decades and should now be compensated. Trump announced that, beginning February 1, 2026, the U.S. would impose a 10 percent tariff on goods from Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and several other European countries, rising to 25 percent by June unless a deal is reached for what he described as the “complete and total purchase of Greenland.”

Trump framed Greenland as critical to U.S. national and global security, citing missile defense systems, Arctic positioning, and growing competition with China and Russia. He claimed that only the United States could secure the territory effectively. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and any transfer of sovereignty would require Danish and Greenlandic consent—an outcome Copenhagen has repeatedly ruled out.

Europe draws a red line

Macron’s response marks one of the strongest public pushbacks by a European leader since Trump returned to the center of U.S. political debate. By linking Greenland to Ukraine, Macron placed the issue within a broader principle: that borders and sovereignty cannot be altered through pressure, whether military or economic.

France, Macron said, fully assumes its participation in a Denmark-led military exercise in Greenland, arguing that security in the Arctic and at Europe’s outer frontiers is increasingly at stake. “Europeans will ensure that European sovereignty is upheld,” he said, signaling that the issue would be handled collectively through the European Union rather than through bilateral negotiations with Washington

United EU response taking shape

European officials have begun informal consultations on potential countermeasures should U.S. tariffs take effect. While no specific retaliatory steps have been announced, diplomats indicated that trade responses, legal action at the World Trade Organization, and tighter coordination on defense policy are all under discussion.

The confrontation has also reignited debate over Europe’s long-standing dependence on U.S. security guarantees, with renewed calls in Paris and Brussels for greater European strategic autonomy.

A broader geopolitical shift

Analysts say the episode highlights a deeper shift in transatlantic relations, with economic pressure increasingly used as a tool of geopolitical bargaining. The Arctic, long seen as a peripheral theater, is rapidly becoming a focal point for great-power competition as climate change opens new sea routes and access to strategic resources.

For Europe, Macron’s stance signals an attempt to assert unity and principle in the face of pressure from a traditional ally—an approach that may define the next phase of EU–U.S. relations. As Macron put it, “No intimidation or threat will influence us.”