Global markets are rattled after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland, sending the euro to a seven-week low and raising concerns about renewed transatlantic trade tensions.
Trump announced that a 10% import tariff would hit goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain from 1 February, rising to 25% from 1 June unless the U.S. is allowed to buy Greenland.
Major European Union states condemned the threats as blackmail. France is pushing to activate the bloc’s Anti-Coercion Instrument, which could limit U.S. access to public tenders, investments, or trade in services.
As Asian markets opened, the euro fell 0.2% to $1.1572, its lowest since November, while sterling dipped and the yen strengthened against the dollar.
"Hopes that the tariff situation has calmed down for this year have been dashed," said Berenberg chief economist Holger Schmieding.
Capital Economics estimates a 10% tariff could reduce UK and German GDP by 0.1%, while a 25% tariff might shave 0.2–0.3% off output. European stocks remain near record highs, with defence shares up nearly 15% this month amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Safe-haven gold stayed near record highs, while bitcoin remained stable at around $95,330. Analysts warned that escalation could pressure the dollar and global tech valuations if investors repatriate capital to Europe.
"This is more a weaponization of capital than trade flows, and it could be highly disruptive," said Deutsche Bank FX chief George Saravelos.
Trump’s move comes as the EU signs a free trade deal with Mercosur and as other global hot spots, including Iran and U.S. Fed tensions, add uncertainty to markets.
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The U.S. Helsinki Commission is set to refocus attention on Georgia’s domestic political crisis and its faltering relationship with Washington with a 11 February briefing titled “Georgian Dream’s Growing Suppression of Dissent.”
Iran would retaliate by striking U.S. military bases across the Middle East if it comes under attack by American forces, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday (7 January), stressing that such action should not be seen as targeting the countries hosting those bases.
The U.S. and China are locked in a growing struggle over critical minerals, the materials that power everything from electric vehicles and microchips to missiles and advanced radar systems, as both sides move to secure control over supply chains that underpin economic and military power.
Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev is expected to travel to Miami on Saturday for meetings with members of Donald Trump’s administration, two sources familiar with the plans told Reuters.
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised American freestyle skier Hunter Hess after the athlete said he felt conflicted about representing the United States at the Winter Olympics in Italy, sparking a public clash that highlights growing political tensions surrounding the Games.
U.S. skiing great Lindsey Vonn underwent surgery in an Italian hospital on Sunday after her attempt to win Olympic downhill gold ended in a violent crash just seconds into the race at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.
Several avalanches struck northern Italy on Saturday, killing at least three people, as rescue officials warned the death toll could rise with unstable conditions persisting across the Alps.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner visited the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Saturday after completing a round of talks with Iran.
Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight on Saturday, marking the second such strike in less than a week, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Türkiye’s national energy company, TPAO, has struck a new cooperation deal with U.S. energy giant Chevron, signing a memorandum of understanding to explore joint oil and gas exploration and production opportunities, the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Ministry announced on Thursday.
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday as investors worried about artificial intelligence (AI) creating more competition for software makers, keeping them on edge ahead of quarterly reports from Alphabet and Amazon later this week.
U.S. stock markets finished mixed on Wednesday (28 January) as investors reacted calmly after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, a decision that had been widely expected and largely priced in.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Chevron is in talks with Iraq’s oil ministry over potential changes to the commercial framework governing the West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world’s largest producing assets, after Baghdad nationalised the field earlier this month following U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia’s Lukoil.
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