Their comments revealed deep concerns in the EU about how to deal with a future Trump presidency. “This is not only very serious for Greenland and Denmark – it is serious for the whole world and Europe as a whole,” said MP Carsten Honge.
“Imagine the world we may face in just a few weeks, in which international agreements do not exist. It would shake everything up, and Denmark would only be a small part of it.”
Denmark’s trade sector was also gripped by deep nervousness after Trump said he would “take Denmark to a very high level” if it refused to hand over Greenland to the US.
Danish Industry Survey 2024. revealed that Denmark’s GDP would fall by three percentage points if the US imposes 10% tariffs on EU imports into the US as part of a global trade war.
Excluding Danish goods from the flow of EU goods would be nearly impossible for the US and would almost certainly lead to retaliatory measures from the EU. But trade professionals are taking few risks, and in Denmark, as elsewhere on the continent, vast resources are being spent domestically on planning the potential outcomes of Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.
As his inauguration approaches, the Danes are preparing to weather the storm as best they can. There is a cautious hope that the president-elect may soon shift his focus to grievances against other EU partners and that the Greenland issue may be put on hold.
But the anxiety caused by Trump’s refusal to rule out military intervention to seize Greenland remains.
Karsten Honge said Denmark would be hurt by any US decision.
“They just need to send a small battleship to go down the coast of Greenland and send a polite letter to Denmark,” he said, only partly joking.
“The last sentence will be: Well, Denmark, what are you going to do about it?
“This is the new reality for Trump.”
