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The Australian government says the US should not impose trade tariffs on countries opposing Donald Trump’s ambitions to control Greenland, calling for the autonomous Danish territory to decide its own future.
Trump has threatened European countries, including Denmark, Germany, France and the United Kingdom with new sanctions, in response to criticism of his plans to control Greenland.
Trump used social media posts to warn of a 10% tariff on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland from next month. Covering all goods traded with the US, the tariff will increase to 25% on 1 June, he said in the posts, and would continue until “a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland”.
The Australian finance minister, Katy Gallagher, said further sanctions from Washington would be the wrong course.
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“We have been clear that the issue of Greenland is a matter for Greenland and Denmark,” she said on Sunday.
“In terms of some of the speculation, some of the reports I’ve seen this morning around tariffs and things like that, our position on that has been clear, that we don’t support tariffs. We support free trade.”
She declined to comment on the potential ramifications for Australia’s foreign and defence policy if Trump sought to take territory from Denmark, a member of Nato and the EU.
European Nato members, including Denmark, this week agreed to send troops to reinforce Greenland’s security. Leaders – including the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer; Emmanuel Macron, the French president; and EU commission president, Ursula von der Leyen – have spoken out against the tariff threat.
Escalating his tariff war, Trump said the US had subsidised Denmark and European Union countries by not charging import taxes for decades. He said the proposed new tariffs would remain until the US had bought Greenland.
“Now, after Centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back,” he wrote. “World Peace is at stake!”
Trump believes control of Greenland is critical to US national security, including for advantage against Russia and China, in part due to its reserves of natural resources and strategic location between North America and the Arctic.
He has threatened military action to take control, putting key European leaders on edge.
Australia ‘has its position’
Gallagher’s comments echo those made by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, in recent days. The Labor government has largely avoided publicly criticising Trump, including when he said the US would take control of Greenland “the easy way” or “the hard way”.
Albanese has secured ongoing support for the Aukus nuclear submarine agreement from Trump and signed a new critical minerals deal during a successful visit to the White House in October.
Last week, Wong said the future of Greenland was “a matter for Denmark and the people of Greenland, and Australia’s made that clear.”
In an interview with Sky News, she said despite being Australia’s closest strategic partner, there had been times in the 75-year alliance that Canberra and Washington had held “differences of views, differences of perspective” on key issues.
“Australia has its position, but we all understand the importance of continuing to maintain that alliance and that engagement,” Wong said. “And you’ve seen the government doing that confidently and responsibly and methodically.”