UK defies Trump’s tariff pressure as PM draws red line on Greenland

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered his strongest rebuke yet of US President Donald Trump’s stated ambitions toward Greenland, insisting Britain “will not yield” to pressure — even if Washington follows through on threats to impose tariffs on its NATO allies, POLITICO reports.

Speaking during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, Starmer said economic coercion would not force London to abandon its principles. “I will not yield, Britain will not yield on our principles and values about the future of Greenland under threats of tariffs,” he told lawmakers.

The remarks mark a notable escalation in tone from Starmer, who has otherwise sought to cultivate constructive relations with Trump since the US president’s return to the White House last year. However, the British leader framed Trump’s recent rhetoric as an attempt to exert leverage over London’s position on Greenland.

Starmer argued that Trump’s sudden criticism of the UK’s decision to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands — home to the joint UK–US military base at Diego Garcia — to Mauritius was politically motivated. The US president had condemned the agreement in a Truth Social post, calling it an act of “great stupidity.”

“President Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different to his previous words of welcome and support when I met him in the White House,” Starmer said. “He deployed those words yesterday for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland.”

Reiterating London’s long-standing stance, Starmer stressed that Greenland’s status is not a matter for external powers. The island’s future, he said, is “for the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone,” adding that the threat of economic sanctions was “completely wrong.”

Starmer confirmed that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is scheduled to visit the UK on Thursday for bilateral talks, with Greenland expected to feature prominently on the agenda.

The opposition Liberal Democrats used the exchange to mount a broader attack on Trump’s approach. Party leader Ed Davey accused the US president of “acting like a crime boss [and] running a protection racket,” and urged Starmer to take a firmer stance. Davey said the prime minister should follow the example of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron by “standing up far more strongly to President Trump.”

By Vafa Guliyeva