EU holds emergency meeting over US tariff threats
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 18 January 2026
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
European Union ambassadors will hold an emergency meeting later today in Brussels to discuss their response to Mr Trump's threat of tariffs on European countries opposing his plan to acquire Greenland. The US president has said that he will introduce a 10% levy on goods produced by eight countries. We speak to the former foreign minister of Germany, Annalena Baerbock.
Also in the programme: government forces make advances after two weeks of fighting in Syria; and the world's only nocturnal parrot comes back from the brink of extinction.
(Photo: woman waves a Greenlandic flag during protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's annexation demands on January 17, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Marko Djurica).
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:08.8 | Hello, welcome to the programme. This is News Hour from the BBC World Service. We're coming to you live from London, and I'm Paul Henley. |
| 0:17.2 | President Trump's threat of tariffs on eight European countries opposing his acquisition of Greenland |
| 0:23.1 | is not being taken lying down. European Union ambassadors are holding an emergency meeting in |
| 0:29.2 | Brussels this afternoon and all the talk is of solidarity. Greenland has been part of the Kingdom of |
| 0:34.7 | Denmark's in 1721. |
| 0:43.2 | The deputy leader of Denmark's parliament, Lash Christian Brask, told the BBC that Mr. Trump's plan was a farce and that it was turning friends into enemies. |
| 0:47.1 | We have to put political pressure via NATO, via the EU, on the US, because this is a situation that sort of look like |
| 0:59.1 | blackmail, economic blackmail, at least, and it's damaging trade, it's thereby |
| 1:05.8 | damaging growth and prosperity, and then nobody wants that. |
| 1:09.7 | Mr. Trump says he'll introduce a 10% levy on France, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands, |
| 1:16.3 | in addition to Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway from next month, |
| 1:21.0 | if there is no deal for him to purchase Greenland. |
| 1:24.0 | The EU's foreign policy chief has said China and Russia must be having a field day over |
| 1:28.9 | divisions being created among the Allies. The tariff announcement followed a visit by a US |
| 1:34.9 | congressional delegation to Denmark, which included Congressman Gregory Meeks. He's a Democrat, |
| 1:41.0 | and he's their most senior member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, |
| 1:44.5 | this is what he told Newsauer. |
| 1:46.7 | My trip here in Denmark today, every official has said, |
| 1:52.1 | just tell us what you need for your national security. |
| 1:56.8 | And not only that, we will work with you. |
| 1:59.2 | All of our neo-aliies are ready to work with us because we are and share the same values. |
... |
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