French President Emmanuel Macron will request the activation of the European Union’s anti-coercion instrument amid increasing calls for the region to retaliate against US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on European countries over Greenland.
Most Read from Bloomberg Macron, who on Saturday branded the threat of tariffs “unacceptable,” was in contact with European counterparts and would make the request to use the ACI — the bloc’s most powerful retaliatory tool — on behalf of France, according to a person close to the president who requested anonymity to comply with government rules.
Trump announced a 10% tariff on goods from eight European countries including France beginning Feb. 1. He threatened in a social media post to raise the levy to 25% in June unless and until “a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
According to the person familiar with Macron’s thinking, Trump’s plan to impose tariffs over Greenland calls into the question the validity of the trade deal sealed last year between the EU and the US. That deal has already been partially implemented but still needs a nod from parliament, which is now likely to halt approval.
EU national ambassadors will meet Sunday to discuss the bloc’s next steps, another person familiar with the matter said earlier.
Germany’s SPD parliamentary group — part of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ruling coalition — called for the European Commission to act quickly and come up with “concrete countermeasures” against the US. The German government is considering all responses to Trump’s tariff threat, but so far hasn’t decided on any specific measures, according to a person familiar with the plans.
Manfred Weber, president of the European People’s Party, the largest political group in the European Parliament, said on Saturday that approval of the EU’s trade deal with the US is no longer possible.
Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo warned that the European Union “has the means to respond” though he said he didn’t want to “see that happen.” Speaking to YLE radio, he said he has requested an extraordinary meeting of the European Council to coordinate and develop a common strategy among European countries and Denmark.
While the EU’s anti-coercion instrument has never been used, it was designed primarily as a deterrent, and if needed, to respond to deliberate coercive actions from third countries that use trade measures as a means to pressure the policy choices of the EU or its members.