WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended proposed tariffs targeting eight European countries that oppose President Donald Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that the goal is to avoid a future national emergency.
Throughout his second term, Trump has moved to impose sweeping tariffs on countries around the world by citing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which allows a president to regulate imports during emergencies.
Asked by moderator Kristen Welker what national emergency justifies tariffs against countries that oppose Trump’s Greenland ambitions, Bessent argued that “the national emergency is avoiding a national emergency.”
“It is a strategic decision by the president,” he said. “This is a geopolitical decision, and he is able to use the economic might of the U.S. to avoid a hot war.”
Trump said Saturday that he would hit imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland with a 10% tariff that he said would increase to 25% on June 1 if a deal isn’t reached to purchase the territory.
His comments came as the Supreme Court was expected to issue a ruling on Trump’s use of IEEPA to impose tariffs.
In response to the tariff threat, European Union ambassadors will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Cyprus presidency of the E.U. Council told NBC News.
Trump has previously said that the U.S. will have Greenland “one way or the other.” Asked on “Meet the Press” whether military action is still on the table, Bessent said he has not “spoken with the president on that.”
Bessent was also asked how a U.S. annexation of Greenland would be different from Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
“I believe that the Europeans will understand that this is best for Greenland, best for Europe and best for the United States,” he responded.
The Trump administration had previously reached a trade agreement with the European Union in July that lowered the tariff level on imports from European Union countries.
Asked how countries can have confidence in trade agreements if Trump was prepared to dash them, Bessent said that “the trade deal hasn’t been finalized, and that an emergency action can be very different from another trade deal.”
“We’re in a very good equilibrium right now with China, but if China did something to upset that balance, I think the president would be willing to act,” Bessent continued.
Many lawmakers — including some Republicans — have pushed back on Trump’s Greenland rhetoric.
Greenland is part of Denmark, a NATO ally, and some Democrats have warned that any U.S. action against Greenland would destroy the NATO alliance.
Asked whether Greenland or NATO is more important to U.S. national security, Bessent called it a “false choice.” Later, he confirmed that “of course, we are going to remain a part of NATO.”
In a separate interview on “Meet the Press,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., emphasized that “emergency powers are for emergencies” and should be “short-lived.”
“There’s no emergency with Greenland. That’s ridiculous,” Paul told Welker. “And the idea by the secretary that, ‘Oh, this is to prevent an emergency.’ Now we’re declaring emergencies to prevent emergencies?”
“That would lead to endless emergencies,” he added.
A U.S. delegation of lawmakers visited Denmark last week for meetings with Danish and Greenlandic leaders. The delegation was mostly composed of Democrats, but also included Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Trump has argued that the U.S. needs full control of Greenland for national security purposes. His threats have been strongly rejected by Greenland, Denmark and other European allies.
