Starmer Slams Trump’s Tariff Threats Over Greenland as 'Completely Wrong' — Warns of Trade War

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer sharply rebuked former U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to use tariffs to pressure support for a U.S. annexation of Greenland, saying alliances are built on respect and partnership, not coercion.

Speaking at an emergency press conference on Monday, Starmer called the idea of imposing tariffs on allies "completely wrong" and warned that "a trade war is in no one’s interest." He emphasized that economic measures against partners would damage workers and businesses at home.

"It is not the right way to resolve differences within an alliance," Starmer said. "Such measures hurt British workers, British business, and the British economy, and that's why I've been so clear on this issue."

Starmer also pushed back on Mr. Trump's security rationale for seeking control of Greenland. Trump has argued that the presence of Russian and Chinese ships around Greenland poses a threat to U.S. security and has suggested annexation as a response. Starmer rejected that logic, saying any decision about Greenland's status "belongs to the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone."

He stressed that Britain would support Greenlanders' right to decide their future and urged diplomacy rather than economic coercion. "That right is fundamental, and we will support it," Starmer said.

Allied Response and Wider Stakes

A group of NATO allies, including Britain and Denmark, issued a forceful statement condemning the tariff threats as undermining trans‑Atlantic relations and risking a "dangerous downward spiral." The statement pledged a united and coordinated response and reaffirmed each country's commitment to sovereignty.

Starmer appeared to rule out immediate retaliatory tariffs by Britain, noting that while the European Union has discussed reciprocal steps, the U.K. had not reached that point. "We have not got to that stage, and my focus is making sure we don't get to that stage," he said, stressing a preference for negotiation and de‑escalation.

Over the weekend, Mr. Trump doubled down in a letter linking his push for control of Greenland to personal grievances about not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize — a claim Starmer and allies dismissed as irrelevant to Greenland's sovereign choices.

Starmer's remarks and the allied statement underscore rising trans‑Atlantic tensions over proposals to use economic pressure to resolve security disputes, and reiterate the principle that Greenland's future must be determined by Greenlanders and Denmark.