Greenland escapes Trump's punitive tariffs - at least initially

NOTE: A quote by Christian Keldsen has been clarified following an inquiry from Greenland Business.

Even if Donald Trump, with his tariff threat against Denmark and seven other NATO countries, looks like an attempt to increase pressure on Denmark and Greenland, Greenland will be exempt from punitive tariffs on fish products to the USA. At least initially.

- As far as I can see, he hasn't yet threatened tariffs against Greenland, so we have no idea if that will happen.

- For Greenland, Trump's tariff threat is probably a minor problem overall.

This is stated by Henrik Leth, CEO of Polar Seafood Denmark, in a comment to Sermitsiaq.

Greenland's absolute largest private exporter, Polar Seafood Greenland, owns half of Polar Seafood Denmark, which is responsible for the sales of the Greenlandic company's products out of Greenland.

Greenland is not a member of the EU, which Greenland left in early 1985. Part of the Greenlandic seafood exports for years have passed through Denmark in particular and on to customers in the rest of the world, including the USA. The North American market thus constitutes a fifth of Royal Greenland's turnover.

- Customs is determined by the country of origin, and it does not change because the goods from Greenland go through Denmark, explains Henrik Leth.

Economic war

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump declared economic war on eight of the US's own NATO allies, including Denmark.

If they do not bow to his demand that the US take over Greenland, both NATO and the EU will find themselves in an existential crisis. According to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, it could, in the worst case, take the life out of one of the two organizations. Politiken's international commentator Michael Jarlner writes this today in a sensational commentary in the Danish newspaper. Markante Kallas has had a significant role in the EU's foreign policy.

And what looks like an attempt by Trump to put further pressure on Denmark and Greenland in the extreme case that began in 2026 may well backfire.

This is the opinion of Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, who has a PhD in political economy and is a senior researcher at the two think tanks Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington D.C. and Brussels.

The reason is the customs union between the EU countries, which means that Trump's conflict with Denmark and Greenland now becomes a conflict with the world's largest trading bloc.

Trump dropped a tariff bomb

On his social media, Truth Social, Donald Trump dropped a tariff bomb on Saturday. He warned of punitive tariffs. The announcement will hit NATO members Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Finland.

Effective Sunday, February 1, all eight countries that send troops to Greenland risk having a 10 percent punitive tariff imposed on their exports to the United States. According to a press release from the Danish Defense Ministry, this will involve "periodic exercise activity geographically distributed in and around the Arctic and the North Atlantic, which will consist of both national and international exercises."

From June 1, the tariff will increase to 25 percent, unless Donald Trump gets his way and the US takes over Greenland.

The world's largest economy

The United States plays a significant role in the global economy, even though its population only constitutes about four percent of the world's total. With its approximately 350 million inhabitants, the country constitutes the world's largest consumer economy.

Greenland's exports to the USA in 2024 were approximately 33 million US dollars, which is equivalent to approximately 200 million kroner annually. Denmark's exports to the USA in 2025 were approximately 370 billion kroner annually.

This is stated by the Director of Greenland Business, Christian Keldsen.

Moreover, not all of Greenland's exports go via Denmark to the USA, among other places, he says.

- Something is going through Canada, which Trump has not threatened with tariffs. Canada is not appears on Trump's list.

- Only a portion of the exports that go through an EU country will be affected. Not all export goods are subject to duty, for example, there is no duty on crabs, says Christian Keldsen.

The USA is an interesting market, but for many products, it is not a market where you get the best prices compared to other markets. There may therefore be good commercial logic in selling to other markets, says Christian Keldsen.

On Trump's Tariffs, GE CEO Says:

- It appears to be a tariff to test the EU and NATO, and not targeted at Greenland. It will not have a commercial effect on Greenlandic exports.

- Because the tariff is not of a size where it will have a noticeable effect on our economy, for example, loss of jobs and problems with returning investments.

- The reactions we have seen from the European countries that are affected are impressive, and there seem to be some strong economies behind them that can and show the will to resist pressure from the USA, says Christian Keldsen.

As mentioned, Royal Greenland had a turnover of one billion kroner in North America in 2024. The company exports both shelled shrimp and cod to the USA.