US Senator Thom Tillis criticized President Donald Trump for imposing additional 10% import tariffs on eight European countries that oppose US control of Greenland.
Tillis said Saturday: “This response to our own allies for sending a small number of troops to Greenland for training is bad for America, bad for American businesses and bad for America’s allies.”
He said: “It’s great for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, (Chinese President) Xi (Jinping) and other adversaries who want to see NATO split.”
“The fact that a small handful of ‘advisers’ are actively pushing for coercive action to seize ally territory is beyond stupid. It damages President Trump’s legacy and undermines all the work he has done over the years to strengthen the NATO alliance,” Tillis said in a post on the social network.
Facebook post by US Senator Thom Tillis
Tillis is one of only two Republicans, along with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who participated in a congressional delegation to Denmark while Trump threatened to occupy Greenland.
Meanwhile, Murkowski called the tariffs “unnecessary, criminal and deeply wrong.”
“They will push our major European allies further away while doing nothing to strengthen US national security,” she wrote on X.
We are already seeing the consequences of these measures in real time: our NATO allies are being forced to divert attention and resources to Greenland, a dynamic that plays right into Putin’s hands by threatening the stability of the strongest coalition of democracies the world has ever seen,” she said.
Murkowski also called on Congress to use its authority over Trump’s tariffs so they “are not weaponized in ways that damage our alliances and undermine American leadership.”
Trump’s new tariffs
President Donald Trump vowed Saturday to impose a wave of escalating tariffs on European allies until the U.S. can buy Greenland.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said an additional 10% import tariff on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Great Britain will go into effect on February 1 – all already subject to the tariffs imposed by Trump.
Those tariffs will increase to 25% on June 1 and will continue until an agreement is reached with the US to buy Greenland, Trump wrote.
Trump wants Greenland
Trump has repeatedly said Greenland is vital to US security because of its strategic location and large mineral deposits, and has not ruled out using force to take it.
European nations sent military personnel to the island this week at Denmark’s request. “These countries playing this very dangerous game have put a level of risk into the game that is not sustainable or sustainable,” Trump wrote.