French President Macron seeks EU action under anti-coercion instrument against Trump tariffs over Greenland: Report

France's President Emmanuel Macron will push the European Union to exercise its powerful anti-coercion instrument against the United States if President Donald Trump imposes tariffs against the European countries in efforts to acquire Greenland, his team said on Sunday (17 Jan), AFP reported.

The group's trade-defence tool, never used before, is described as a weapon against coercion by imposing a blockade on imports of goods and services from a hostile country to protect the EU and its member states from economic pressure or intimidation by non-EU countries.

The European Union’s Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) allows the bloc to act collectively when a non-EU country uses or threatens economic measures to force policy changes. It enables the European Commission to investigate coercion, seek dialogue, and, if needed, impose proportionate countermeasures such as tariffs, trade restrictions, investment limits, or exclusion from EU public procurement. The tool can be invoked when economic pressure is used to undermine the EU’s or a member state’s sovereign decisions.

The development comes after US President Donald Trump on Saturday ramped up his efforts to acquire Greenland, threatening eight members of the European Union, including Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland, accusing them of "playing this very dangerous game" by journeying to Greenland for a “purpose unknown.”

Also Read: European Union calls emergency meeting after Trump threatens tariffs over Greenland

While most European countries responded cautiously to Trump’s move, stressing shared values and warning that it could undermine the Western alliance, France struck a far sharper tone, condemning the US president’s threats by drawing a direct parallel with Russia’s actions in Ukraine. “No intimidation or threat will influence us—neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations,” President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X.

Italy's Meloni, who is considered an ideological ally of President Donald Trump, dubbed the threat to slap tariffs on opponents of his plan to seize Greenland a "mistake" on Sunday, adding she had told him her views.

"I believe that imposing new sanctions today would be a mistake," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told journalists during a trip to Seoul, adding that “I spoke to Donald Trump a few hours ago and told him what I think.”