As the fallout from Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on European allies who oppose his campaign to annex Greenland continues to dominate headlines, European leaders are reportedly considering a plan to levy tariffs on $93 billion worth of US goods in response.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has already had a call with Trump, where he conveyed that the US President’s economic attack on NATO allies was misguided. The Times reports that Starmer will deliver an “emergency speech” later today, warning of a “downward spiral” in the US tariffs row.
According to the Financial Times, the possible retaliatory tariffs are being drawn up to give European leaders leverage in crucial meetings with the US President at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. “Europe delivers a warning to Trump,” echoes the Independent.
The threat of a trade war has sparked concerns about the future of the NATO alliance. The Daily Mail warns that Western leaders are cautioning that Trump’s actions risk “a dangerous downward spiral” in transatlantic relations. The i Paper goes so far as to call this the “biggest crisis” to hit NATO in decades, describing it as the “greatest threat” the alliance has faced.
Russia, meanwhile, has hailed the row as a “collapse of the transatlantic union,” further stoking tensions.
Amid the geopolitical drama, the papers also report on other news, including tennis star Emma Raducanu’s decisive victory in the opening round of the Australian Open, and the declining trend of tea breaks for British workers.
The Daily Star, in a lighter note, announces the return of “dancing maracas star” Bez and his band Happy Mondays, offering an “antidote” to the gloom of “Blue Monday.”