Trump tariffs live updates: EU calls emergency meeting and warns of ‘downward spiral’ after US tariff threats

The Trump tariffs would be more bad news for British businesses, the British Chambers of Commerce said.

William Bain, its head of trade policy, said in a statement: “New tariffs on goods exported to the US will be more bad news for UK exporters, already struggling with the tariffs levied last year.

“We know trade is one way to boost the economy and the success of transatlantic trade depends on reducing, not raising, tariffs.

“The Government must prioritise the implementation of the Economic Prosperity Deal and negotiate calmly to remove the threat of these new tariffs.”

European Union leaders on Saturday warned of a “dangerous downward spiral” over Trump’s vow to implement increasing tariffs on European allies until the US purchase of Greenland is permitted.

“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council president Antonio Costa said in posts on X.

The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said tariffs would hurt prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic, while distracting the EU from its “core task” of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, has said China and Russia will be having a “field day” after Trump’s tariff announcement.

“China and Russia must be having a field day. They are the ones who benefit from divisions among Allies,” she wrote on X.

“If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity.”

In his announcement, Trump argued that only the US can protect Greenland from China and Russia.

Ms Kallas also said the dispute must not distract from ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Ambassadors from the European Union’s 27 countries will convene on Sunday for an emergency meeting after US president Donald Trump vowed a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland.

Cyprus, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, said late on Saturday that it had called the meeting for Sunday. EU diplomats said it was set to start at 5pm (4pm GMT, 11am ET).

Lawmakers in the European Union may be set to block the approval of the bloc’s trade deal with the US, after Donald Trump as threatened tariffs on seven countries over their Greenland policy.

Manfred Weber, the president of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament – the largest political group – said an agreement with the US is no longer possible.

“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,” Mr Weber said in a post on social media.

The agreement to lower tariffs on US products “must be put on hold”, he said.

The trade agreement was struck between European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Trump last summer, as the former looked to avoid a full-blown trade war with the US.

But it still requires approval from the parliament, and critics have said it is too heavily weighted in the US’ favour.

Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:

Trump’s latest threats have provoked an outraged reaction among MPs.

One senior Labour MP told the Independent: “He can f*** off”.

Earlier Sir Keir Starmer said the government would be “pursuing” the

US over the threat of tariffs from President Donald Trump over Greenland.

He added that “applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of Nato allies is completely wrong.”

Our chief international correspondent Bel Trew takes a look at Donald Trump’s fixation with Greenland:

In his post, Trump accused allies of Denmark of playing a “very dangerous game”.

“These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable,” Trump wrote.

“The United States of America is immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these Countries that have put so much at risk, despite all that we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades,” he said.