Could Europe aim its 'trade bazooka' at Trump? | Global News Podcast

Welcome to the Global News podcast on. YouTube, where we go behind the. headlines. And today we're looking at. how Europe can respond to those tariff. threats from President Trump over. Greenland. We're joined from Brussels by. our Europe correspondent Nick Beake. And. Nick, first of all, outline for us this. tricky situation that European leaders. are having to navigate. Well, on the one hand, Ollie, it's a. really simple situation. When you talk. about Greenland, for European leaders, it is a territory which is part of. Denmark, which in turn is part of the.

European Union, and it is not for sale. The problem is that President Trump sees. it in a very different way. He says that. he has to get. Greenland. He says he needs that for. security, for the security of the US, the security of the world. He says. there's such a big threat from China and. Russia that really the answer to combat. that is American ownership. The European. Union says absolutely not. This is. something that can't be entertained. And. what we've seen now is that President.

Trump is threatening to apply tariffs, taxes on eight European countries who. have given their support to Greenland. He's not happy with them at all. And so. Europe is trying to work out how do they. respond to that threat from the man in. the White House? And what is this big. bazooka or trade bazooka that Europe. might use? Yes, so this is something that the. Europeans came up with two years ago. And the idea is if there is a hostile. external force which is trying to bully.

the European Union, interfere in its. affairs, there is a way of responding to. that, taking economic action. Now, at. the time, they were thinking of China. potentially bullying the EU. They. weren't thinking about the US. But what. would happen if this device were to be. used, this so-called trade bazooka? What. they do is there would be. countermeasures, there'd be retaliatory. tariffs. So basically things would be a. tax would be put on American goods. Maybe American firms would be banned.

from sending their goods into the. European single market. Maybe US firms. would be barred from going for some sort. of contracts that were available. globally. So this is something that. could be done. President Macron of. France has said that he believes it's. the way forward. Interestingly, the. Germans have suggested they might think. this is also the right approach. But. then you've got Georgia Meloni of Italy, and she is saying, "Look, we really. don't want to be dragged into a trade.

war with our biggest trading partner, who of course is the United States." And. what other options do the Europeans. have? There was some suggestion they. might revive tariffs they were. considering last year. Yeah, interesting one this. This was. some 93 billion euros worth of tariffs. And this sort of short list, or long. list really, of different American. products that may be subject to tariffs. was put together after Donald Trump made. his first round of tariff threats.

against the European Union and of course. lots of other countries around the. world. They had this negotiating period. and back in July of last year, they came. to this arrangement whereby there would. be a 15% tariff applied to to many. European goods going into America. And a. lot of people saw that as lopsided. because there weren't to be any tariffs. on the American products being sent here. to Europe. So at the time they drew up. this list of potential American products. that may be taxed further in the future.

They haven't gone ahead with putting. this into practice, but now some people. are saying, "Well, actually, if the. President Trump if President Trump is. talking about doing this, maybe this is. something we should look at again as a. way of retaliating and certainly making. him think again." There's some. suggestion that this all might be a. negotiating tactic from Europe. Will. President Trump care about either a. trade bazooka or tariffs? He seems. desperate to get hold of Greenland at. all costs.

He does, doesn't he? He said that. America absolutely has to have. Greenland. And the sort of that what. we're hearing from Washington, D.C. is. that he is deadly serious uh in this. pursuit of what is the biggest island in. the world. In terms of what will affect. his thinking, if there is a trade war, and clearly this wouldn't be something. that kicks in in 24 hours and we see. instantaneous uh results and impact on. millions of people. But if there is some. sort of big disagreement economically uh.

between the US and the EU, and it. affects people in in the US in. particular as well as millions of. consumers here in Europe, surely that. would be something that has an impact on. President Trump who likes to. boast of having uh basically reignited. the US economy, that people are feeling. much better off with him being the man. leading the country. So that could be. something that makes him think twice. But I think the challenge for European. leaders is that they're trying to think. about something in the short term that. would make him think again and sort of.

row back from what he's threatening to. do. You mentioned some differences. between the Italian Prime Minister. Georgia Meloni and some of the others. Um could Europe stay united if push. comes to shove here? Well, I think that could be quite. difficult actually. And it was. interesting when President Trump first. announced that there could be tariffs on. the European countries who've shown. their support for Greenland and by. extension Denmark. So we're talking. about uh the United Kingdom, France, Germany, some of the Nordic countries,

Denmark as as well. The immediate. reaction from the woman who runs the. EU's foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, she. said Russia and China will be basically. rubbing their hands with glee. They. can't believe their luck, the prospect. of Europe being disunited on this and. being weakened and fragmented. And I. think there is a challenge because as. we've seen with Ukraine over the past. couple of years, quite often people say, "Well, you know, Europe thinks this or. Europe wants to do that." It's not quite. as simple as that. You've got 27. different countries with competing.

ideas. All of these leaders have to. think about their domestic audiences. And you've got the likes of Hungary. who've been, you know, really. problematic at times. Also Slovakia uh. and and other countries not willing to. sign up to what maybe France and Germany. want. So I think the idea of European. unity is really being tested at the. moment by President Trump. And how bad. could things get for the global economy? Could we see a world trade war? I think certainly that's the fear that.

privately diplomats and politicians and. leaders are talking about. They don't. want to make things any worse. And I I. get a sense that there may well be a. wait-and-see approach to this, that the. threat of a a global trade war, one that. eminence emanates from Europe, is. something that people don't want to to. contemplate. Already in a world which. has got so much. so many problems with different. geopolitical hotspots, with conflicts. raging. And so I think what people will.

do is they'll wait and see if President. Trump says more. Does he flesh out this. argument that he's making for more. tariffs? Is it the case that his. attention is turned elsewhere? Can there. be some sort of arrangement reached with. him? I I think the European leaders will. not want to rush into any sort of rash. decisions here and really try and take. their time and try to present, whether. that's possible or not, some sort of. united front. Yeah, I was going to ask. you, what are the chances of a deal? You.

have the likes of Sir Keir Starmer, the. British Prime Minister, trying to dial. things down. Yeah, I think the problem, Ollie, is. that the two sides, the US and the EU, are just poles apart when it comes to. sort of fundamental questions here. The. Europeans saying that Greenland is not. for sale. So in a way there's no way we. can have a discussion or a debate or an. argument and sit down with all these. high-level meetings and lots of people. gathered round tables taking notes. copiously because you know, if you're.

not going to sell it, that's not the. case. President Trump says there has to. be an outcome to this. This is the. businessman in him who says there has to. be a solution to this. He hasn't taken. away the possibility of military. intervention. People think that that is. very unlikely, but he's kept that on the. table. And he says, "Look, he has to buy. it for the security of the United. States, the security of Europe, and the. security of the whole world." So I it's. hard to see how a deal can be done here. because what would be the terms of a. deal? What would it look like? But.

certainly European leaders are talking. about compromise and trying to. accommodate President Trump in some way. Nick, thank you very much. Nick Beake, our Europe correspondent in Brussels. If. you like this episode, please subscribe. here on YouTube. If there's anything. you'd like us to cover, leave a comment. below. And for more like this, tune in. to the Global News podcast wherever you. get your BBC podcasts.