Table Stakes - January 19th

Good morning everyone,

I’m Atlas, and welcome to Table Stakes!

Here’s a look at today’s topics:

• EU Issues Condemnation Of Trump Tariff Threats For Control Of Greenland

• Analysis: The ELN And Venezuela Partnership (Part 1 of 2)

• Trump Calls For New Leadership In Iran

EU Issues Condemnation Of Trump Tariff Threats For Control Of Greenland

_{By: Atlas}

The European Union convened an emergency meeting of ambassadors from all 27 member states on Sunday to formulate a response to President Donald Trump's announcement of new tariffs targeting eight European nations that oppose American efforts to acquire Greenland.

Cyprus, which holds the rotating six-month EU presidency, called the extraordinary session for Sunday afternoon in Brussels, according to Reuters. The meeting comes after Trump announced on Saturday that he would impose a 10 percent tariff on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland beginning February 1.

Those tariffs would increase to 25 percent on June 1 and continue to rise "until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland," Trump wrote on Truth Social. All eight nations had recently sent small military contingents to Greenland at Denmark's request as a show of solidarity.

European Council President António Costa announced plans for an extraordinary meeting of EU leaders in the coming days. "Given the significance of recent developments and in order to further coordinate, I have decided to convene an extraordinary meeting of the European Council in the coming days," Costa said Sunday evening, according to the Financial Times.

Joint Statement Rejects Tariff Pressure

The eight targeted nations issued a joint statement Sunday declaring their unity with Denmark and Greenland while warning of the consequences of continued pressure from Washington.

"Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," the countries said in the statement, according to Reuters. "We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty."

The nations characterized their military deployment as an effort to strengthen Arctic security "as a shared transatlantic interest" and said it poses no threat to anyone. They expressed willingness to engage in dialogue with the United States "based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the government had been in intensive dialogue with allies since Trump's announcement. "I am pleased with the consistent messages from the rest of the continent: Europe will not be blackmailed," Frederiksen said in a written statement cited by the Epoch Times.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson echoed that position. "We will not let ourselves be blackmailed," he said Saturday, adding that only Denmark and Greenland can decide issues concerning their territory, according to Reuters.

France Pushes for Unprecedented Trade Response

French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for the EU to activate its "anti-coercion instrument" for the first time since its adoption in 2023, according to French officials. The measure, unofficially referred to as the EU's trade "bazooka," can restrict access to public tenders, investments, banking activity, and trade in services for countries attempting to coerce EU members.

According to the Financial Times, EU capitals are considering €93 billion worth of tariffs or restrictions on American companies' access to the bloc's market in response to Trump's threats. The tariff list was prepared last year but suspended until February 6 to avoid a trade war. Its reactivation was discussed during Sunday's ambassadors meeting.

"There are clear retaliation instruments at hand if this continues... [Trump's] using pure mafioso methods," a European diplomat briefed on the discussion told the Financial Times. "At the same time we want to publicly call for calm and give him an opportunity to climb down the ladder."

Manfred Weber, president of the European People's Party, the largest political group in the EU Parliament, announced that the body would not approve the trade deal struck with the United States last year. "The EPP is in favor of the EU-US trade deal, but given Donald Trump's threats regarding Greenland, approval is not possible at this stage," Weber wrote on social media, according to ZeroHedge. "The 0 percent tariffs on US products must be put on hold."

European Leaders Maintain Unity

German Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said "a line had been crossed" and that affected nations "must not allow ourselves to be blackmailed," according to ZeroHedge. "There will be a European response to this threat," he said.

Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel described Trump's actions as blackmail in an interview with Dutch television. "It's blackmail what he's doing," van Weel said, according to Reuters.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, considered one of Trump's closer allies in Europe, described the tariff threat as "a mistake" and said she had told the president as much in a phone call. "He seemed interested in listening," she told reporters during a trip to Korea, according to Reuters. Italy has not sent troops to Greenland.

British Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said allies needed to work with the United States to resolve the dispute but maintained that Britain's position on Greenland was "non-negotiable." "It is in our collective interest to work together and not to start a war of words," she told Sky News, according to Reuters.

Washington Maintains Position

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified the administration's stance on Sunday, stating that the United States would not "outsource our national security." He told NBC News that Europe was too weak to guarantee Greenland's security and refused to back down on the demand for American control of the territory.

"The president believes enhanced security is not possible without Greenland being part of the US," Bessent said, according to the Financial Times.

The crisis is expected to dominate discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, where Trump is scheduled to appear Wednesday and Thursday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to hold private talks with the president.

National security advisers from western countries will meet in Davos on Monday afternoon. The talks were initially set to focus on Ukraine and ongoing peace negotiations, but have been restructured to address the Greenland dispute, according to officials briefed on the preparations cited by the Financial Times.

Subscribe to Table Stakes to read the rest.