World Economic Forum 2026: US Allies Turn Tides Over Trump's Greed For Greenland | France | Canada

At the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, a sharp transatlantic rift has emerged as key US allies launched unusually direct and forceful criticisms of President Donald Trump's tariff policies, particularly those targeting Denmark and Greenland over Arctic sovereignty and security issues. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever described Europe as standing at a crossroads, accusing the US of crossing multiple red lines after initial European appeasement in hopes of securing American support for Ukraine; he warned that continued leniency would sacrifice dignity and could mark the end of 80 years of Atlantism, quoting Gramsci on living in a “time of monsters.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney invoked Thucydides to highlight the return of raw great-power rivalry, firmly backed Greenland and Denmark's right to self-determination, opposed coercive tariffs, and emphasised Canada's heavy investments in NATO's northern flank. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned US actions as deliberate attempts to weaken and subordinate Europe through unacceptable trade demands and territorial leverage, calling for the immediate use of the EU's anti-coercion instrument and the creation of a European preference policy.

The criticism intensified with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressing shared Arctic goals but labeling additional tariffs a serious mistake among long-standing friends, reminding that "a deal is a deal" after last July's EU-US trade agreement, and warning that division would only benefit adversaries. Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen condemned the US approach as a violation of territorial integrity, international law, sovereignty, and core democratic values, insisting on mutual respect rather than threats despite decades of loyal alliance with the United States and NATO. Even Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng weighed in, stating that tariff wars produce no winners and only fragment the global economy.