EU Withdraws Immediate Tariff Threat Against US

BRUSSELS, Jan 24 (Bernama-dpa) -- The European Union (EU) is suspending its special tariff threat against the United States (US) following this week's sudden de-escalation of the Greenland conflict, it was confirmed on Friday, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

A regulation prepared last year for duties on imports worth €93 billion (US$109 billion) is to be put on hold for a further six months, said a spokesman for the European Commission in Brussels.

This would otherwise have automatically taken effect on February 7. However, the tariffs could be activated at any time – even before the expiry of the new six-month suspension, the spokesman added.

The EU had threatened the measures after US President Donald Trump announced punitive tariffs on goods from Denmark and allied countries because they rejected his claim to acquire Greenland.

On Wednesday evening, Trump made a surprising U-turn, saying at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he would not use force in the dispute over the Arctic island and was withdrawing his announced punitive tariffs.

According to Trump, a framework for a future agreement on Greenland and the entire Arctic region had been agreed at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, rendering other measures unnecessary.

Details remain unclear, but according to NATO sources, the US will be allowed to expand its military presence in Greenland and may also be given a say in certain investments there.

The EU's tariff package was developed last year in the wake of the trade conflict with the US at the time.

It would make the export of many industrial and agricultural products from the US to the EU more costly – such as planes, motorbikes, beef, whisky and citrus fruits.

--BERNAMA-dpa