Nato now ‘heading for disaster’ in Trump row: UK official’s warning as Starmer tells US President he’s ‘wrong’ and EU aims £81billion ‘trade bazooka’ at America
Keir Starmer last night confronted Donald Trump over his extraordinary threat to take over Greenland.
In an unprecedented rebuke over warnings that NATO was ‘heading towards disaster’, he told the US President that his proposal to impose tariffs on those seeking to defend the island was ‘wrong’.
The clash came after Western leaders warned Mr Trump that he risked a ‘dangerous downward spiral’ in relations, adding that the new Arctic mission ‘posed no threat to anyone’.
But a Cabinet minister rejected demands that Britain respond by canceling the King’s planned state visit to America in the spring.
As the deepening crisis threatens the future of NATO, European leaders are considering using the so-called trade ‘bazooka’, an economic tool that would hit the US with tariffs worth £81bn, in retaliation for the first time.
The ‘big bazooka’ is an anti-oppression tool adopted in 2023 to combat political blackmail.
This allows the EU to restrict countries’ participation in public tenders, limit trade licenses and close access to the single market.
But there was no sign the White House would back down; One key figure argued that Europe was too weak to defend itself.
Donald Trump shocked NATO allies by warning that those who oppose America’s takeover of Denmark’s Greenland region will face punitive tariffs starting February 1.
Sir Keir Starmer reportedly told Donald Trump in a phone call on Sunday afternoon that it was “wrong to impose tariffs on allies to ensure the collective security of NATO allies.”
The two were said to have a cordial working relationship; The Prime Minister has been praised for his sensitive handling of Mr Trump, and the US President last year suggested Starmer had done ‘a very good job so far’ as Prime Minister. However, the political consequences of the Greenland issue are not yet known.
Last night a senior British Government official told the Daily Mail: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it. Our enemies will rub their hands with joy. ‘We are heading towards a disaster.’
President Trump has long been trying to seize Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, to improve U.S. security; believes that this region is at risk of being invaded by China.
He increasingly made military invasion more likely; Then, over the weekend, he opposed European countries defending the independence of the huge island.
The President announced on the Truth Social platform that the United States will impose a 10 percent tariff on all exports from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, starting February 1, and will increase this rate to 25 percent in June.
‘This tariff shall be due and payable until an agreement is reached for the full and complete acquisition of Greenland.’
There was immediate condemnation from across the world, including from across the political spectrum in Britain, where Sir Keir branded the proposals ‘completely wrong’.
Yesterday, he went further and delivered his direct message to the President, who was spending the weekend on his golf course in Florida.
A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister spoke to the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen; European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; and NATO secretary general Mark Rutte. He then spoke to President Trump.
Join the discussion
Should allies risk economic war to counter Trump’s Greenland demands?
European leaders could now deploy the ‘trade bazooka’ to hit the US with tariffs worth £81bn in retaliation. Picture: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels on January 28, 2025.
People hold Greenlandic flags and signs reading ‘Greenland Not For Sale’ as they gather in front of the US consulate to protest President Donald Trump’s Greenland plans on January 17, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland.
People participate in a protest outside the U.S. consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 17, 2026, against President Trump’s demand to hand over the Arctic island to the United States
Uniformed Danish soldiers land in the port of Nuuk, Greenland, on January 18, 2026
The Danish Defense, the combined armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark, is strengthening its military presence in Greenland and preparing to expand joint exercises with NATO allies as part of a broader effort to increase the alliance’s security responsibility in the Arctic and North Atlantic.
‘The Prime Minister reiterated his stance on Greenland in all his calls. He said security in the High North was a priority for all NATO allies to protect Euro-Atlantic interests.
‘He also said it was wrong to impose tariffs on allies to ensure the collective security of NATO allies.’ Sir Keir is expected to personally lobby Mr Trump at the Davos summit this week.
Eight countries facing a tariff blow that experts fear could plunge Britain into recession at a cost of £6bn to exporters have issued a statement condemning Mr Trump’s threats and defending a military exercise in Greenland that is thought to have angered him.
The statement included the following statements: ‘As NATO members, we are determined to strengthen the security of the Arctic as our common transatlantic interest. Denmark’s previously coordinated Arctic Resilience exercise with allies responds to this need. He poses no threat to anyone.
‘We stand in full solidarity with the people of the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous decline.’
Ms Frederiksen added: ‘Europe will not be blackmailed. We want to cooperate and we are not the ones looking for conflict.’
But US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: ‘The Europeans project weakness, the US projects strength.
‘The President believes that it is not possible to improve security without Greenland becoming part of the United States.’
Lord McDonald, former head of the diplomatic service, told the BBC: ‘If there was any conflict between the Americans and the Europeans over Greenland, that would be the end of NATO.
‘When one ally becomes militarily hostile to another, there is no going back.’
Conservative MP Simon Hoare said: ‘HM The King’s upcoming state visit to the US must now be cancelled.
‘The civilized world can no longer cope with Trump. He’s a gangster pirate.’
But Culture Minister Lisa Nandy rejected the idea, telling Sky News: ‘It feels a bit childish because people’s jobs and lives depend on us being able to have serious conversations with our colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic.’
