Keir Starmer delivers emergency press conference in response to Trump tariff threats over Greenland
Keir Starmer has spoken out against Donald Trump's tariffs which will be applied to eight nations by the US next month over their opposition to America seizing Greenland.
He explained how the tariffs affect the 'stability' of ordinary Brits' lives and called instead for 'calm discussion' over Greenland's future.
Trump has promised that the US will take control of Greenland 'one way or the other', despite Greenlanders making it clear they don't want him to take over.
In a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Trump also said that because Norway didn't give him a Nobel Peace Prize he doesn't feel 'an obligation to think purely of peace' and will instead 'think about what is good and proper for the United States of America'.
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Several countries have sent troops to Greenland and as a result they were hit with tariffs which are due to come into force on 1 February.
Trump announced that it'd be 10 percent tariffs on all goods from the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, which would be raised to 25 percent on 1 June if the US wasn't in charge of Greenland by then.
At the weekend Starmer called Trump to tell him that 'applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is wrong', and now the prime minister has spoken out again to reiterate that the US president is 'completely wrong' with his approach.
Speaking outside Downing Street in a call for the UK to adopt an approach 'led by our values', Starmer said: "The world has become markedly more turbulent in recent weeks."
The prime minister spoke about the UK's values and said 'the UK and the US are close allies and close partners, that relationship matters profoundly', saying he was 'determined to keep that relationship strong, constructive and focused on results'.
Starmer said co-operation between the two countries on many matters had been important for 'concrete outcomes in the national interest', but said 'on Greenland the right way to approach an issue of this seriousness is through calm discussion between allies'.
He said 'the security of Greenland matters' and spoke of 'collective defence' with the US playing a 'central' role.
"But there is a principle here that cannot be set aside, because it goes to the heart of how stable and trusted international cooperation works, so any decision about the future status of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone," he said at Downing Street.
Starmer said alliances were 'built on respect and partnership, not pressure' and criticised Trump's use of tariffs on nations helping Greenland.
He said he'd be looking at building 'partnership, facts and mutual respect'.
He added: "In today’s world, geopolitics is not something that happens somewhere else. It shapes the cost of energy, the price of food, the security of jobs, and the stability that families rely on to plan their lives."
Why Donald Trump wants Greenland
Trump claims the US taking over Greenland would result in 'world peace' as he claimed it was a matter of 'national security' and 'international security'.
According to the US president, if the Americans don't do it then 'Russia or China will'.
Greenland's geographic location makes it an important place for protecting North Atlantic shipping, and the melting of the Arctic ice is opening up new potential shipping lanes.
China declared itself a 'near-Arctic state' in 2018 and says it wants to create a 'Polar Silk Road', while Russia has said it will increase its military presence in the Arctic.
The US has military personnel stationed in Greenland but the Trump administration has claimed Denmark is not doing enough and the US needs to take over the territory and do it themselves.
CNBC reports that occupying Greenland would allow the US to build part of their 'Golden Dome' missile defence system on it.
There's also significant mineral resources in Greenland with oil, gas and rare earth elements, many of them untapped due to the difficulty in extracting them from the harsh climate and cold conditions.
Greenland's response
Trump has attempted to take over Greenland before, having made an offer to buy it in 2019 during his first term as president which he called 'essentially a real estate deal'.
Greenland has been adamant that it does not want to be taken over by the US and said they are 'not for sale', as the leaders of five political parties released a joint statement saying: "We don't want to be Americans, we don't want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders. The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders."
Recent talks in Washington between officials from the US, Denmark and Greenland raised a 'fundamental disagreement', namely that the US wants to acquire Greenland and Greenland does not want to be acquired by the US.
Topics: Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, Greenland, NATO, UK News, World News
Joe Harker