US SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADER SEEKS TO BLOCK TRUMP'S GREENLAND TARIFFS

WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Bernama-dpa) -- The minority leader of the Democrats in the United States (US) Senate, Chuck Schumer, said he would seek to block tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump against European allies over the Greenland dispute, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

"Donald Trump's foolhardy tariffs have already driven up prices and damaged our economy and now he is only making things worse," Schumer said in a statement released on Saturday. 

"It is incredible that he wants to double down on the stupidity by imposing tariffs on our closest allies for his quixotic quest to takeover Greenland," he said.

"Senate Democrats will introduce legislation to block these tariffs before they do further damage to the American economy and our allies in Europe."

Trump earlier announced that the US would impose a 10 per cent tariff on imports from eight European countries from February 1, citing disagreements over Greenland.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the tariff would apply to all goods sent to the US from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland. He said it would rise to 25 per cent from June 1 if no deal is reached "for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland" by the US. 

Opposition to Trump's tariff threat has also emerged elsewhere in the US Congress.

The two co-chairs of the Senate's bipartisan NATO Observer Group, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Senator Thom Tillis, warned that such rhetoric would benefit adversaries like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, "who want to see NATO divided."

"At a time when many Americans are already concerned about the cost of living, these tariffs would raise prices for both families and businesses," they said in a joint statement, urging the administration "to turn off the threats and turn on diplomacy."

The US president has repeatedly made clear that Washington wants to acquire Greenland, a move that European NATO partners strongly oppose. 

Greenland is largely autonomous and forms part of the territory of Denmark, a NATO member.

-- BERNAMA-dpa