European leaders attending Davos take seriously the demand of US President Donald Trump after his obsessive speech to annex Greenland, and although they welcome the opening of a negotiating path within NATO, they are preparing for all scenarios. These include a new trade war in case the bewildering Trump changes his mind again.
"EU leaders will analyze the response this Thursday [today], for which there are several tools that can be gradually used depending on what Washington does," one of the European officials involved in the preparations told this newspaper. "It's good that the US accepts dialogue, but we must wait. No need to get too hopeful too soon," summarized German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil last night.
The European priority remains the agreement, and for this, the offer is a pact to ensure "Arctic security" so that the US has guarantees that there is no risk with Greenland remaining part of Denmark. But, in view of Trump's reaction, demanding impossible sovereignty transfer negotiations, the EU is preparing for additional potential retaliations in the future.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen ruled out opening discussions on sovereignty transfer. "We cannot negotiate on that," he said, although he took the "positive" aspect that Trump rules out, at least for now, "the use of force." "We have to maintain our position," said Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch in Davos, in statements to Reuters. French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen already stated in Davos before Trump spoke that the transfer of Greenland, which is EU territory, is non-negotiable.
Avoiding further tariffs on February 1st for now, the EU is preparing for future threats. At the moment, in the European Parliament, with government support, a halt to the ratification of the tariff agreement with Trump from last year was taken, which, although humiliating for the EU, ended with very mitigated customs duties.
In addition, Economy Ministers have ready the tariff retaliations against the US planned last year in case that agreement with Trump's team did not materialize. These involve new tariffs on US products - aviation and machinery, cars and agri-food products, including bourbon whiskey, peanut butter, blueberries, or orange juice - worth 90 billion.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutwick already hinted in Davos that if the EU dares to take such measures, Washington's response will be even harsher. Lutwick was so aggressive towards the EU in his speech at a private dinner organized by BlackRock President Larry Fink on Tuesday night that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde chose to leave the room in an unprecedented tension in the usually polite and serene Davos elite dinners.
Macron is among those in favor of exploring another measure: the so-called anti-coercion mechanism. This empowers the EU to restrict the attractive European market to US companies and banks. Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo did not rule out that Pedro Sánchez supports this option: "We have all the tools on the table," he stated.
The EU's tone has escalated following Trump's increasing aggressiveness. "We are ready to defend ourselves, our Member States, our citizens, and our companies against any form of coercion. The EU has the power and the tools to do so," said Portuguese Antònio Costa before the European Parliament. But everyone knows that the US's superiority remains overwhelming and they hope that the new pact will be successfully closed.