On January 19, U.S. President Donald Trump once again used tariffs as a negotiation tool, publicly threatening to impose additional duties on goods from Denmark, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and other European countries if Europe refuses to agree to a U.S. proposal for the “full purchase” of Greenland. The tariffs could take effect as early as February, with rates potentially rising to as high as 25% by June.
The remarks triggered an immediate backlash from the European Union. Multiple EU officials characterized the move as economic coercion and confirmed the launch of emergency consultations. The European Commission is reportedly evaluating retaliatory tariffs on approximately €93 billion worth of U.S. goods, while also considering the activation of the Anti-Coercion Instrument, which could restrict U.S. firms’ access to public procurement, investment, financial services, and trade within the EU.
France and Germany have adopted the most uncompromising stance, explicitly rejecting any linkage between trade concessions and sovereignty issues. Denmark, while emphasizing continued diplomatic engagement, has made clear it will not accept tariffs as a bargaining mechanism.
From a macro perspective, this development goes beyond a conventional trade dispute. It reflects a strategic escalation in which tariffs, geopolitics, and sovereignty are being explicitly bundled into a single policy tool. A further deterioration in U.S.–EU relations would directly undermine global trade confidence, amplify supply-chain uncertainty, and reintroduce inflationary risks—creating structural headwinds for risk assets.
Bitunix Analyst View:
In the short term, worsening transatlantic relations are likely to lift risk aversion, with volatility in both the U.S. dollar and Treasury markets rising in tandem. Over the medium term, formal EU retaliation would force markets to reprice global trade fragmentation risks. Longer term, the key question is whether the politicization of tariffs becomes a normalized policy framework—one that could permanently reshape global capital flows and risk preferences. For crypto markets, heightened macro uncertainty tends to reinforce Bitcoin’s non-sovereign asset narrative, with performance hinging on confidence in the stability of the traditional financial system.
