European Officials Lean Toward Negotiating, Not Retaliating

“Faced with the threat of punishing tariffs by President Trump if he does not get his way over acquiring Greenland, European Union leaders began to coalesce around a negotiation strategy on Sunday, without ruling out retaliatory taxes of their own,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Trump on Saturday had demanded a deal to buy Greenland, saying on social media that otherwise he would slap tariffs on a group of European nations, starting with 10 percent in February, then ramping up to 25 percent in June.”

“On Sunday, ambassadors from across the 27-nation bloc met in Brussels to take stock of the situation. While those were just preliminary talks, they made a few things clear. Officials would rather negotiate than retaliate, for one. But they are also committed to protecting Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, from being bought or taken over if that is not what its people want.”

Wall Street Journal: Europe is bracing for a new trade fight with Trump.