European lawmakers have suspended their approval of a trade agreement reached with President Trump over the summer due to his push to acquire Greenland.
“Given the continued and escalating threats, including tariff threats, against Greenland and Denmark, and their European allies, we have been left with no alternative but to suspend work,” said Bernd Lange, the chairman of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, according to NBC News.
BREAKING: European lawmakers on Wednesday suspended the approval of the trade deal the EU and U.S. agreed in July.
🔗Read more: https://t.co/wbLOOuQk8A pic.twitter.com/uUoL0gg7DX
— CNBC International (@CNBCi) January 21, 2026
NBC News has more:
The announcement came after Trump on Saturday said he would hit seven European Union countries, plus the U.K., with tariffs if they did not allow the United States to control Greenland.
The E.U. trade deal was reached in July during a visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Trump’s golf club in Turnberry, Scotland.
The core of the deal was a cap on U.S. tariffs applied to most imports from the E.U. at just 15%. The rate was among the lowest received by any trading partner last year.
ADVERTISEMENTSome imports from the E.U., such as generic pharmaceuticals would have had all tariffs removed.
In exchange for the lower tariff rate, the European Union, America’s largest trading partner, would have lowered tariffs on some goods it imports from the United States. This would have helped American agricultural and industrial companies sell products into the 27-country bloc.
“We have just decided to suspend work by @ep_trade on the legal implementation of the Turnberry Deal. Our sovereignty & territorial integrity are at stake. Business as usual impossible,” Lange said.
📢Jetzt offiziell: EU-US Deal bis auf Weiteres auf Eis gelegt!
Wir haben gerade beschlossen, Arbeit von @ep_trade zur rechtlichen Umsetzung Turnberry-Deal auszusetzen.
Unsere Souveränität&territoriale Integrität stehen auf dem Spiel. Business as usual unmöglich #Grönland #Zölle— Bernd Lange (@berndlange) January 21, 2026
“It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land,” Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
“That’s the reason I am seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland,” he continued.
Check it out:
.@POTUS: "It's the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land…That's the reason I am seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland…This would not be a threat to NATO—this would greatly enhance the security of the entire… https://t.co/1v8MQCupLw pic.twitter.com/PtTaCCpsNM
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 21, 2026
CNBC noted:
Trump ruled out the use of military force in his speech, a commitment Lange described as a “small positive element.”
However, Lange said the proposed 10% to 25% tariffs remain on the table, adding that, until the threat of them is over, “there will be no possibility of compromise.”
“We will hold on the procedure… until there is clarity regarding Greenland and the threats,” he said.
“There was a breaking of the Scotland deal by President Trump,” Lange said, referring to the trade pact agreed by the EU and the U.S. at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort last year.
ADVERTISEMENTLange said Trump is “using tariffs as an instrument of political pressure” as a way to buy Greenland, and described the move as “an attack against the economic and territorial sovereignty of the European Union.”
He added that the Committee on International Trade would on Monday discuss the use of the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) — a far-reaching measure variously described as a “trade bazooka” — which would allow the EU to substantially restrict U.S. companies’ access to its single market, block them from tenders, reduce the flow of goods and capital, and curb foreign direct investment in the bloc.
What do you make of it?






