Sunday 18 / January / 2026
European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic, who attended the EU-Mercosur deal signing ceremony in Paraguay, told DW's Rosie Birchard about the bloc's strategy for dealing with Trump's fresh tariff threat against European countries over Greenland.
"There is consultation among the leaders going on. First and foremost, we again stayed very, very, clear on our principles for us, territorial sovereignty, integrity and international law are absolutely key principles," Sefcovic said.
Sefcovic said the new US tariffs could trigger a "very dangerous downward spiral" and European leaders should "simply avoid this type of development."
Some European lawmakers, such as Manfred Weber of the center-right European People's Party, have said the European Parliament may not be able to ratify the US-EU trade deal that was reached last summer. That deal would see EU goods face a 15% tariff coming into the US, with US goods not facing any levies in the EU.
Sefcovic told DW that the path to ratifying the deal will be "very complicated."
He noted that the new EU-Mercosur agreement "should help us more than offset, the negative consequences from the increased tariffs imposed by the United States."
The new EU deal with the Latin American trading bloc Mercosur will massively reduce trade barriers between the two sides.
Sefcovic also said the EU conducts the most global trade, bigger than China and the US.
"We are predictable. We always look for mutual advantages, deals and we are simply biggest trading bloc on this planet with a huge consumption power with very solid clientele and world class companies," Sefcovic said.
Leading US House Democrat offers resolution to block Trump's tariffs
US House Representative Gregory Meeks of New York said he will offer a resolution to "terminate" Trump's "illegal and absurd tariffs immediately."
"I'm here in Copenhagen and in every conversation I've had, officials have made clear: Greenland is not for sale," Meeks, the top Democrat on the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a statement posted on X.
"Trump is manufacturing a foreign crisis and sabotaging our closest alliance — all while ignoring the real crisis the American people actually care about: affordablity," the statement added, referring to cost-of-living struggles Americans face.
It's unclear if such a resolution would pass if brought to the floor of the Republican-majority US House of Representatives.
Some Republicans in Congress have also criticized Trump's plans to acquire Greenland, such as US Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska.
Following Trump's announcement of fresh tariffs on Denmark, Germany, France and several other US allies, Bacon posted on Facebook that "Congress must reclaim tariff authorities."
"There's a reason James Madison put tariff authorities under Article One," Bacon posted on X, referring to Article I of the US Constitution. Madison was one of the framers of the Constitution and served as president from 1809 to 1817,
Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution reads: "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises."
The US Supreme Court is currently deliberating the constitutionality of Trump's tariffs on US trading partners. In its second term, the Trump administration has invoked the International Economic Powers Act of 1977 to implement the duties and bypass Congress.
