Trump’s Greenland Tariffs Threat Sparks EU’s “Tariff or Tar-nado” Crisis

KEY POINTS

•On January 18, 2026, Donald Trump announced tariffs targeting eight European nations due to their opposition to his Greenland acquisition attempt.
•Senior European diplomats held crisis talks as Italy’s Giorgia Meloni labeled the tariffs a mistake.
•Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel condemned Trump’s threats as blackmail, reflecting the tense backlash among EU allies.

In the jaw-dropping diplomatic drama of January 18, 2026, former President Donald Trump decided eight European nations needed a non-sweet dose of tariffs, presumably as a chill warning after his failed Greenland land grab attempt. Senior European diplomats, who must have thought they were signing up for a peace conference, scrambled into emergency talks to figure if ‘tariffs’ are the new international friendship bracelets. Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, warned that Trump’s plan is a colossal mistake—not the kind in a Netflix comedy but the geopolitical type. Meanwhile, Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel threw down the diplomatic hardball term 'blackmail' as Europe collectively reeled at being told, 'Nice annexation opposition you got there, shame if something happened to it.' It’s a tariff-tug-of-war over ice and pride with plenty of icy stares all around.