Brussels has formally suspended the ratification of its trade agreement with the United States following President Trump’s linkage of tariff threats with his Greenland ambitions. European lawmakers have characterized this approach as blackmail, prompting the parliament’s most significant material response to the escalating crisis.
According to Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament’s trade committee, no possibility for compromise exists while Greenland-related threats remain active. The frozen trade deal had been designed to provide American industrial exporters with zero-tariff access to European markets across multiple product categories.
The European Union has maintained its $750 billion energy purchase commitment, which officials confirm operates separately from the suspended trade agreement. This strategic distinction allows Brussels to preserve essential energy cooperation while defending political autonomy.
Diplomatic tensions escalated when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen changed her post-parliamentary plans, returning directly to Brussels for emergency summit preparations.
Trump’s strategy of linking unrelated issues—trade tariffs and Greenland territorial demands—has backfired dramatically as Brussels refuses to accept this conditionality. Rather than pressuring Europe into compliance, the linkage has unified European opposition and provided clear justification for suspending the trade deal. By connecting commercial negotiations to territorial ambitions, Trump gave Brussels a principled basis for rejection that resonates with public opinion. The Thursday summit will examine whether to escalate with €93 billion in counter-tariffs, potentially compounding the strategic backfire.