Jan. 21 — U.S. President Donald Trump was due to address the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos on Wednesday with Greenland expected to dominate the agenda amid a hardening of the positions of Trump and European leaders.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg before heading to Davos herself, calling Trump’s threat of tariffs “simply wrong” because Europe agreed with the United States on the need to ensure the security of the Arctic.
Von der Leyen said that while Europe preferred to talk out differences, it was “fully prepared to act, if necessary, with unity, urgency and determination,” adding that leaders of EU nations would meet in Brussels to discuss their response at an emergency session of the European Council on Thursday.
Her comments came as the European Parliament was set to announce Wednesday that it was pausing ratification of a tariffs and trade deal with the United States inked in July because it was unlikely to pass.
Without the deal, $109 billion of U.S. exports to the EU will be subject to tariffs starting Feb. 7.
French President Emmanuel Macron told the forum in Davos on Tuesday that the EU must not be fall prey to “the law of the strongest” and that it should hold out against what he said was a new type of colonialism, citing lopsided U.S. trade deals and an “endless accumulation” of new tariffs that become even less acceptable when used as leverage to alter borders.
Macron also levelled similar accusations at China, saying its “massive excess capacity and distortive practices threaten to overwhelm entire industrial and commercial sectors.”
“We prefer respect to bullies, we prefer science to conspiracies, and we prefer the rule of law to brutality,” said Macron, who is among those advocating deployment of a so-called “trade bazooka” that was created with China in mind when it was floated in 2023.
A deterrent against bids by global powers to strongarm the EU or member nations into policy shifts, the Anti-Coercion Instrument allows Europe to respond with counter-tariffs, restrict access to the Single Market, block bids for EU contracts, as well as target intellectual property rights and investment.
German officials told Politico that Berlin would ask the European Commission to look at the ACI option when EU leaders meet Thursday in Brussels, however, the outcome was being seen as dependent on what Trump says in his address Wednesday and the result of talks on the sidelines of the forum.
Speaking before departing Washington at a news conference to mark his first year in office, Trump initially ramped up his rhetoric, warning he was prepared to do whatever it took to acquire Greenland, before switching to diplomacy mode, saying he was confident he would be able to find a solution acceptable to both sides.
“I think something’s going to happen that’s going to be very good for everybody… I think that we will work something out where NATO is going to be very happy and where we’re going to be very happy. But we need it for security purposes, we need it for national security and even world security. It’s very important,” said Trump.
*upi*
