Britain should rob pomp-loving President Donald Trump of a US meeting with King Charles, after he pledged to hit NATO allies — including the UK — with the penalty from February 1
Keir Starmer should cancel King Charles’ state visit to the US, angry MPs say. The PM is under pressure to strip Trump of the King’s company at his planned visit to the States in the Spring unless the President calls off his threatened 10% trade tariff hike.
Trump has pledged to hit NATO allies — including the UK — with the penalty from February 1 unless they cave in to his plans to take control of mineral-rich Greenland.
Britain has sent a single military officer to the under-threat nation to join a reconnaissance group as tensions rise over Trump’s plans. The president hit back by threatening to launch a full-scale trade war with the countries that have come out against him – including the UK.
On his social media site Trump said levies will start at 10% — and potentially rise to 25% if the nations have not given in by June. The intervention drew an angry response from Western leaders amid fears Trump is intent on ripping apart the NATO military alliance that has helped maintain world peace for the past eight decades.
A joint statement from the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands said they stood ‘firmly behind’ the ‘principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity’. “Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” they added.
MPs want the King’s planned trip to Washington to be cancelled. Trump is known to be a huge admirer of the Royal Family.
Sir Keir wooed him with an unprecedented second state visit to the UK last year amid pomp and ceremony in what Trump described as the ‘highest honour’ of his lifetime. The King has been expected to visit the US in April while a trip by the Prince of Wales has also been pencilled in.
But politicians have argued none should go ahead in the face of presidential threats. Senior Tory Simon Hoare said: “The civilised world can deal with Trump no longer. He is a gangster pirate.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said support for Greenland’s sovereignty was ‘non-negotiable’ and Trump’s tariff threat was ‘wrong’ and ‘deeply unhelpful’. Pressed on the issue of the state visit she referred to the ‘depth’ of the special relationship between the US and UK.
Economists have warned Britain will be back on ‘recession watch’ if the US goes ahead with tariffs. Senior MEPs have warned the EU-US trade deal will be frozen in reprisals with the spectre of a full-blown global trade war looming.
The Prime Minister, who has battled to maintain relations with Trump, said: “Our position on Greenland is very clear. It is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes.
“We have also made clear that Arctic security matters for the whole of NATO and allies should all do more together to address the threat from Russia across different parts of the Arctic. Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is completely wrong.
“We will, of course, be pursuing this directly with the US administration.” French president Emmanuel Macron said: “No intimidation nor threat will influence us, neither in Ukraine nor in Greenland nor anywhere else in the world, when we are confronted with such situations.
“Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context. Europeans will respond to them in a united and co-ordinated manner if they were to be confirmed. We know how to uphold European sovereignty.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “President Trump is completely wrong to announce tariffs on the UK over Greenland. These tariffs will be yet another burden for businesses across our country.
“The sovereignty of Greenland should only be decided by the people of Greenland.” Tory peer Lord Hannan said: “This is demented. Outright bats*** crazy. Where are the adults in the room? Why will no one rein him in?”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted on X: “We don’t always agree with the US government and in this case we certainly don’t. These tariffs will hurt us.”
The party’s energy and foreign policy spokesman Richard Tice said Trump was ‘correct’ to worry China could use Greenland to get a foothold in the Arctic. But he added: “The approach in the way you work with your closest allies is completely wrong.”
John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, said the tariff threat was ‘without doubt his most dangerous and destructive assertion during the five years of his presidency’. To say it is without precedent radically understates how foolish and contrary to fundamental American interests it is,” he said.
“Its ramifications for the special relationship and NATO alliance — indeed for the credibility and trust the United States has spent decades trying to establish — is incalculable.” The UK already pays a 10% tariff on some goods imported by the US after Mr Trump introduced a wave of taxes on countries around the world on his Liberation Day last April.
His latest announcement is part of the White House’s new strategy of dominating the West and preventing foreign control of vital assets. Trump has said the US needs to acquire Greenland for national security reasons and has not ruled out using military force.
He has claimed it is vital for his planned missile defence shield known as the Golden Dome, but critics claim his interest is linked to Greenland’s untapped mineral wealth rather than defence. The island possesses at least 25 of the 34 raw materials considered ‘critical’ by the EU.
A meeting at the White House last week led by Vice President JD Vance with representatives from Denmark and Greenland ended in stalemate. Over the weekend thousands of protesters took to the streets in Denmark and Greenland’s capital Nuuk chanting the nation was ‘not for sale’.
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