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Maia Davies
The culture secretary has said the UK will not compromise on its position that Greenland’s future must be decided by its own people.
Lisa Nandy said US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on the UK and other European allies over the issue is “deeply unhelpful and counterproductive”, and that an “adult debate” with the White House was required.
She told BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “The future of Greenland is a matter for the people of Greenland and the people of the kingdom of Denmark.”
Nandy said the prime minister had not spoken to Trump since he announced the plan on Saturday, but that he hoped to do so “at the earliest opportunity”.
Sir Keir Starmer has called the move “completely wrong” and said his government would be “pursuing this directly with the US administration”.
The White House has in recent weeks intensified calls for a US takeover of the autonomous Danish territory, which Trump says is critical for US security. He has not ruled out taking it by force.
The plan would see a 10% tariff on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland from 1 February, which could later rise to 25%, until a deal was struck for a US takeover of Greenland.
Nandy said Trump will often “express a very strong view” before encouraging “dialogue”.
“He welcomes difference of opinion… and what often happens is a negotiation,” she said.
Asked whether she believed Trump would row back on the tariffs, Nandy said: “I think this is actually a really serious issue, and I think it deserves a far more adult debate than us threatening the United States, and the United States threatening us.”
“The one thing that we won’t do is compromise on our position” that Greenland’s future was for its people to decide, she added.
“That is non-negotiable. That is the starting point for the conversation.”
US House Speaker Mike Johnson told Laura Kuenssberg before the tariffs were announced that he accepted Greenland was “not our land” but that it had “strategic importance to us”.
“I don’t foresee military intervention”, he said. “I think diplomatic channels is the way to go”.
Trump’s announcement has prompted criticism across the UK’s political spectrum.
Also on the programme on Sunday, Reform UK MP Richard Tice agreed that the move would be “completely wrong”.
“The objective of protecting Greenland for all Nato allies is correct, the way he is going about it is completely wrong.”
Conservative MP Sir Jeremy Hunt meanwhile told the programme that he did not believe Trump would “actually follow through” on taking the territory.
“To invade the sovereign territory of a Nato ally would mean the end of Nato – and that would actually make America weaker,” he said.
“Because America’s strength, a lot of it comes from the fact that it leads the most successful military alliance in history.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded the tariffs plan a “terrible idea” which would be “yet another burden for businesses” across the country.
“The sovereignty of Greenland should only be decided by the people of Greenland,” she said.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said “Starmer’s US policy lies in tatters” with Trump “punishing the UK and Nato allies just for doing the right thing”, while the Green Party’s parliamentary leader Ellie Chowns called the decision “unhinged” and said Trump was trying to “bully” countries into compliance.
Greenland is a resource-rich Danish territory located between North America and the Arctic, making it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks and for monitoring vessels in the region.
European countries have rallied to Denmark’s support as the White House escalated its rhetoric on its ambition to “own” the territory on national security grounds.
Announcing the new tariffs in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump said they were playing “a very dangerous game” which put the “Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet” at risk.
Denmark has repeatedly stressed Greenland is not for sale and that an attack on its territory would spell the end of the Nato military alliance, while Greenland has said it would rather remain Danish than become American.
