Macron warns Trump tariff threat over Greenland risks a world 'without rules'
French President Macron warned of a shift towards a world “without rules” after US President Trump threatened tariffs on countries opposing his bid to seize Greenland.
President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday France preferred "respect to bullies" and rejected "unacceptable" tariffs, following US President Donald Trump's threat to impose levies on countries opposing his plans to seize Greenland.
"France and Europe are attached to national sovereignty and independence, to the United Nations and to its charter," he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, as his US counterpart seeks to take over the Danish autonomous territory, and has invited countries around the world to a new global "Board of Peace".
"We will do our best in order to have a stronger Europe, much stronger and more autonomous," he said, wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses after appearing in public with a bloodshot eye last week.
The French leader warned of "a shift towards a world without rules", one "without effective collective governance", leading to "relentless competition".
Macron described "competition from the United States of America through trade agreements that undermine our export interests, demand maximum concessions, and openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe".
They were "combined with an endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable — even more so when they are used as leverage against territorial sovereignty", he said.
‘We’re on the menu’
Canada "stands firmly" with Greenland and Denmark, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump vowed his plan to take control of the autonomous Danish territory was irreversible.
Carney's address to the world's political and financial elites also touched on themes he has addressed since entering Canadian politics last year, namely that a system of US‑led global governance will not return to a pre‑Trump normal.
He urged middle powers, like Canada, to work together in defending a rules‑based international order.
"Middle powers must act together, because if we're not at the table, we're on the menu," Carney said.