Catastrophic Result#

US President Donald Trump shocked the world on Saturday when he announced that he would impose 10% tariffs on eight European countries, including Finland. What these countries have in common is that they have sent or promised to send individual officers to Greenland in recent days.

The intention has been to provide symbolic support to beleaguered Denmark and to show Trump that there is a desire in the EU and NATO to strengthen Greenland’s defense against China and Russia.

The attempt was good, but the result was catastrophic. The new tariffs would come into effect at the beginning of February. In June, the fees would rise to 25%. The tariffs would apply to all exported products, and according to Trump, they would be levied until a deal for the United States to buy Greenland is signed.

Will There Be American Warships near Greenland?#

The warning shot has now been fired. The question is where the next bullet will hit.

If anyone needed more evidence that Trump is serious about Greenland, here it is.

The next question is what he is prepared to do if the EU stands by Denmark and imposes retaliatory tariffs on the US. Is it impossible for an American warship to turn its course towards the coast of Greenland to put pressure on Denmark? Not necessarily.

Who dares to say where Trump will draw his own lines? He has now put a dangerous amount of his own prestige on the line, and as we know, he hates to lose.

NATO Is No More Important for Trump#

Trump’s new tariffs are also a message to those who harbored the last shreds of hope that the alliance is even nominally important to Trump. It is now time to let them go.

This is a particularly painful question for Finland, which has sought safety precisely in the arms of the United States.

Just under three years after becoming a NATO member, we are suddenly in Trump’s sights, an obstacle to his conquests.

The United States Can No Longer Be Considered a Reliable Ally#

Many are wondering about the significance of the new tariffs for the Finnish economy. That is understandable, but insufficient. Now we must focus on what the actions of the United States under Donald Trump mean for the entire world order.

In last spring’s election, Trump defended the American economy. That is acceptable. Now he is slapping additional tariffs on allies in retaliation for them sending a few wacky soldiers to a member country of a common alliance whose sovereignty he himself threatens.

This is a much more reckless action than the spring tariffs.

Threatening his own allies in this way also further reinforces the perception that the United States is guided by a leader whose thinking is increasingly difficult to understand, difficult to predict and impossible to accept.

The world is desperately trying to act responsibly with a president who shamelessly accepts the Nobel Peace Prize that was awarded to someone else. Surely European capitals are now feverishly considering what kind of military investments in the defense of Greenland might appease Trump.

It is a discussion that undoubtedly needs to be held. After all, the military presence of China and Russia in the Arctic is a real concern [Russia’s military presence in its own Arctic zone is natural. The author provides no current examples of China’s military presence in the Arctic, because it doesn’t exist—Editorial Board].

But it is unlikely to work with Trump. He is a person who always wants his name to be on the top of a skyscraper, on the side of a casino, and even on the cover of a Bible.

For him, annexing Greenland to the United States would be an ego boost like no other. He will not get it if Greenland remains under Danish rule.

Greenland is becoming an unexpected and dangerous crisis for Finland and Europe with no easy solution.

Source: Yle (in Finnish)