While European leaders kept open the possibility of retaliatory trade measures against the U.S., for now they appeared to engage in negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump, who, on Saturday (January 17, 2026), announced tariffs on seven E.U. members and the U.K. The tariffs were announced to pressure the European nations to hand over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark to the U.S.
German Chancellor Frederick Merz said on Monday (January 19, 2026) that he would try to meet with President Trump and the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday (January 20, 2026) to discuss the Greenland issue.
Mr. Merz argued that the U.S. economy was not doing as well as Americans had imagined, and part of that was due to tariffs. The E.U. and the U.S. reached a trade agreement in July last year, which resulted in most E.U. goods entering the U.S. being tariffed at 15% .
Mr. Merz said he did not want a tariff war, but kept retaliatory options open.
“If we are confronted with tariffs that we consider unreasonable, then we can react,” he said at a party press conference, adding the E.U. would discuss the matter further at an emergency summit on Thursday (January 22, 2026).
An EU package of € 93 billion in tariffs on U.S. products is due to kick in on February 6, unless a suspension, currently in effect, is extended beyond this date.
Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil appeared to back a stronger response than the Chancellor.
“We are constantly experiencing new provocations…,” he said at a joint press conference with his French counterpart, earlier on Monday (January 19, 2026).
“Germany and France agree: We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed,” he added.
Mr. Klingbeil said legally permissible economic retaliation should be looked into, as he appeared to support French President Emmanuel Macron’s push for the EU to restrict the U.S.’s access to the Single Market, by invoking the bloc’s Anti-Coercion Instrument.
The European Council, comprised of member states, met on Sunday (January 18, 2026) and reached a “shared assessment that tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and are incompatible with the EU-U.S. trade agreement,” according to its President, Antonio Costa.
In the U.K., Keir Starmer, arguably Mr. Trump’s closest ally in Europe, ruled out a tariff war, i.e., retaliatory tariffs, saying these were not in anyone’s interest.
“We have not got to that stage, my focus is making sure we don’t get to that stage.”
He stood by the U.K. and European position that the future of Greenland was up to Greenland and Denmark. He also said that it was “completely wrong” to threaten allies with tariffs.
He admitted that the tariffs from the U.S. had been “very badly received” across the U.K., even as he said the U.S. remained a close ally on defence, security, intelligence and nuclear capability.
“But we must stand up for our values,” he said.
It was in the U.K. national interest to work with the U.S. on defence and security, Mr. Starmer said.
The Prime Minister linked the U.K.’s national security and specifically the effectiveness of Britain’s nuclear deterrent, to having a good relationship with the U.S.
He was responding to a question on whether he would consider economic retaliation via tariffs on the U.S., and whether his government would advise Britain’s King Charles III to not travel to the U.S. to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary of independence.
Mr. Starmer said that he had explained to the president that the limited number of European troops in Greenland “were clearly there to assess and work on risk from the Russians” and he said he hoped there was clarity on that. The two leaders spoke on the phone on Sunday (January 18, 2026).
Asked if he thought Mr. Trump was actually considering military action, Mr. Starmer, said, “I don’t actually.”
Published – January 19, 2026 03:26 pm IST
