【Wen/Observer Net, Xiong Chaoran】U.S. President Trump waved the "tariff baton," hitting his European allies with a heavy blow. While the EU was discussing countermeasures, there were also "dissonances" — some moved forward, while others retreated.

According to Bloomberg on January 19 local time, German Chancellor Merkel said that day that compared to France, Germany is less willing to use the EU's strongest trade countermeasures to deal with Trump's latest tariff threats, but if necessary, Germany would also support taking such measures. She revealed that Germany is maintaining close contact with EU partners as well as allies Britain and Norway, and everyone agrees that it is important to prevent any possible escalation of situations that could further damage transatlantic relations and suppress economic activity.

Previously, Bloomberg reported that French President Macron planned to request the activation of the EU's so-called "trade rocket launcher" — the "Anti-Coercion Instrument" (ACI) — to counter the United States. However, Merkel believes that Germany's dependence on exports is higher than that of its western neighbor, France, which means Germany must be more cautious.

"The impact of U.S. tariffs on France is different from ours," Merkel said after attending a meeting of her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in Berlin, telling reporters, "Therefore, Macron's desire to react more firmly than us is understandable."

Nevertheless, Merkel said that before the special EU summit on January 22 in Brussels to discuss the next steps, "we are striving and want to successfully take a common position."

Photo: May 7, 2025, Paris, France, French President Macron meets German Chancellor Merkel. IC Photo

According to reports, just before this German conservative leader made these remarks, German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Scholz warned earlier that day that Trump's threat to impose additional tariffs on NATO allies who oppose his plan to annex Greenland had crossed a red line.

Scholz, also co-chair of the Social Democratic Party, urged European allies to prepare to activate the ACI in response to Trump's latest tariff threats.

According to an estimate by Bloomberg Economics, if Trump fully implements the 25% tariff rate mentioned in the threats, exports to the U.S. by relevant countries may decrease by up to 50%, with Germany being one of the most severely affected countries.

"We don't want to engage in a trade war with the U.S., but if we face what we consider inappropriate tariffs, we have the ability to respond," Merkel added, stating she hoped to meet with Trump during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week.

"The U.S. government knows we can respond," she added: "I don't want that, but if necessary, we certainly will defend our European interests and German national interests. Tariffs benefit no one and hurt almost everyone."

Merkel said experience shows that Trump often threatens to impose additional trade tariffs, sometimes implementing them, but the U.S. president is also willing to be persuaded.

"This has been the strategy I have taken for the past nine or eight months since I took office, and I will continue to do so," Merkel said.

"Tariffs are usually paid by the country where the imported goods flow in," Merkel said: "In this case, American consumers will pay the tariffs, but this will also harm our economy — the European economy, especially the German economy."

On January 17 local time, protests were held in various parts of Denmark and Greenland against the U.S.'s recent statements about coveting Greenland. However, shortly after the protest activities began, U.S. President Trump posted that starting February 1, he would impose a 10% tariff on eight European countries that oppose his acquisition of Greenland — Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland. In addition, the tariff rate would increase to 25% starting June 1.

Reuters pointed out that Trump's threat to impose tariffs came after several European countries sent small numbers of military personnel to Greenland last week.

"Politico Europe" reported on January 17 that following Trump's tariff threats, the European Parliament confirmed the suspension of approval of the trade agreement reached between the U.S. and the EU in July of last year.

As well as Macron, several European Parliament officials also called for using the ACI as a "weapon" against the U.S. The ACI provides a series of punitive measures that can be taken against trade partners attempting to threaten the EU, including limiting their investments and public procurement, as well as restrictions on intellectual property protection.

On January 18, the Wall Street Journal also helped Europe sort out options, stating that the EU could resort to trade retaliation, use the so-called "trade nuclear option" ACI, strengthen cooperation with other regions, or even reduce defense cooperation with the U.S.

The report analyzed that although individual European countries find it difficult to effectively respond to Trump's 10% tariff threats, if acting as a whole, the EU could raise the cost for the U.S. to impose tariffs, seeking concessions from the U.S. on the Greenland issue.

Notably, as a country that has already left the EU, the UK is also on Trump's "tax list."

On January 19 local time, British Prime Minister Starmer delivered a speech, calling for a "cool discussion" to avoid a trade war with the U.S. over the Greenland issue. He also urged Trump to respect NATO and other alliances rather than undermine these systems.

As the British Prime Minister, Starmer almost ruled out the possibility of taking retaliatory tariff measures, trying to cool down this verbal battle. In response to criticism from the opposition that his attitude was too weak, he insisted that his approach to Trump's policies is based on "pragmatism," and that "pragmatism does not mean passivity."

In the subsequent question-and-answer session, a journalist asked — is it now time for the UK to choose between the U.S. and Europe? To this, Starmer replied: "First, I believe we should not make a choice between the U.S. and Europe. This is not something I am saying today, but rather my position and that of previous governments."

Regarding Starmer's latest statement, UK Economist's defense editor Shashank Joshi revealed that Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper originally wanted to make a stronger statement on the Greenland issue earlier, but was blocked by Downing Street. He stated that Starmer issued a "quite restrained" statement today and claimed that the UK's reliance on the U.S. is correct. If the spiral of retaliation escalates and the U.S. exerts pressure on the UK in areas such as security, intelligence, nuclear weapons, and defense, the UK would face an unusually vulnerable situation.

"But I think if the tariff and security spiral continues to escalate in the coming weeks, the UK will be hard to stay out of it, let alone the U.S. taking any unilateral action regarding Greenland, which would also come at a heavy diplomatic cost," Joshi said bluntly.

Simon Nixon, a former columnist for The Times and the Wall Street Journal, also commented: "Starmer's speech confirms my previous guess — in the effort by Europe to resist Trump on the Greenland issue, the UK will be the weakest link."

This article is exclusive to Observer Net. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7597093179694842378/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.