As U.S. President Donald Trump has begun to lay bare his ambition to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, some members of the ruling party in the United States voiced criticism of a "Greenland tariff."

The Greenland tariff is a U.S.-bound tariff imposed on eight European countries (the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands) that oppose the U.S. intention to annex Greenland. Trump said the previous day that the United States would impose a 10% tariff on these countries starting on the 1st of next month and a 25% tariff starting on June 1.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposes a 10% U.S.-bound tariff on eight European countries—United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands—that oppose the United States' intention to annex Greenland starting on the 1st; a 25% U.S.-bound tariff takes effect from June 1. /Courtesy of Reuters, Yonhap News

On the 17th (local time), Sen. Thom Tillis, a moderate Republican from North Carolina, said on X (formerly Twitter), "Responding this way to our allies because a small force was sent to Greenland for training is bad for the United States, U.S. business, and U.S. allies."

Tillis added, "That is good for Putin (the Russian president), Xi Jinping (the Chinese president) and other adversary states that want to see the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) divided," and "the fact that a handful of (the president's) advisers are actively pushing coercive actions to seize an ally's (Denmark's) territory surpasses stupidity." He went on, "This damages Trump's legacy and undermines all the work he has done over many years to strengthen the NATO alliance."

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, also regarded as a party moderate, criticized on X that (Trump's Greenland tariff) is "an unnecessary punitive measure and a big mistake," adding, "It will only alienate our key European allies while doing nothing to advance U.S. national security."

She added, "We are already seeing the consequences of the action in real time. Our NATO allies are being forced to divert attention and resources (from issues such as Ukraine) to Greenland," and "Congress must exercise its authority to prevent the president from weaponizing tariffs in ways that damage alliances and weaken American leadership."

Earlier, Trump announced the plan to impose tariffs on Truth Social, referring to the eight European countries that sent small detachments to Greenland, saying, "Countries playing a very dangerous game have created an unacceptable and unsustainable level of risk."

※ This article has been translated by AI. Share your feedback here.