Trump Shares Rutte Screenshot, UK Wages Cool, More
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News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Stephen Carroll. The US president is reinforcing his increasingly aggressive push for ownership of Greenland. Speaking in Florida in the past few hours, Donald Trump called the island a national security necessity to counter Russia and China. In a sign that calls to avoid escalation are going unheeded, Trump added that he does not expect the European Union to offer significant resistance.
What are Trump's recent comments about Greenland and national security?
Well, I don't think they're going to push back too much. Look, we have to have it. They have to have this done. They can't protect it. Denmark, they're wonderful people. And I know the leaders, they're very good people, but they don't even go there. And, you know, because the boat went there 500 years ago and then left, that doesn't give you title to property.
Trump went on to say he will discuss Greenland with several parties while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos. His latest comments come as Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz sought to de-escalate tensions following the threat of tariffs on eight European countries.
We do not want this escalation. We do not want a trade dispute with the United States of America. But if we are confronted with tariffs that we consider inappropriate, then we are in a position to respond. And that is precisely what we will be discussing in Brussels on Thursday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaking through a translator after French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU should consider using its most powerful trade tool, the anti-coercion instrument, that would allow for additional tariffs, new taxes on overseas firms and foreign investment curbs. Macron's push for a robust EU response came as the US president directly threatened France with a 200% tariff on its wines and champagne. The move came after Emmanuel Macron declined Trump's invitation to join a proposed board of peace for Gaza. Trump posted screenshots of messages from the French leader on social media which proposed a G7 meeting and that it would include the leaders of Ukraine, Syria, Denmark and Russia in Paris on Thursday.
Here's what the US president had told reporters a little earlier.
Well, nobody wants him because he's going to be out of office very soon. So, you know, that's all right. What I'll do is if they feel like costo, I'll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes and he'll join. But he doesn't have to join.
President Trump also confirmed that Russia's President Vladimir Putin had been invited to join the board. Privately, senior European officials have told Bloomberg they see the Board of Peace as an attempt by Trump to set up a rival or replacement for the United Nations. France is nearing the end of its budget stalemate as the Prime Minister is opting to bypass a parliamentary vote on the spending plans. Sébastien Le Corneau says he'll use Article 49.3 of the French Constitution to adopt a revised version of the bill following failed attempts to build sufficient support for it in the National Assembly. The decision suggests Le Corneau, who had previously ruled out using this measure, has secured enough parliamentary backing to survive subsequent no-confidence votes.
France's lower house has remained divided since the 2024 snap election, which left no group with a sufficient majority to govern. The UK's deadline to approve or deny China's planned mega-embassy in London is today, and the government appears to be gearing up to say yes. Foreign Minister Seema Malhotra has told UK Parliament that some of the embassy's concerns had been resolved, but the decision is set to be highly controversial to diplomats and national security officials. Bloomberg's James Wilcock has more.
Britain's difficult geopolitical game has come to Parliament today. This morning, Mike Johnson, the US Speaker of the House, is in the Commons to showcase the special relationship. Hours later, in the same building, the Housing Secretary Steve Reid will announce the UK's decision on China's mega-embassy in London. It's one of Beijing's key asks ahead of the UK Prime Minister's planned visit to China later this month.
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