It appears that the US’ NATO partners aren’t happy with President Trump’s strongarm tactics concerning Greenland, and some form of retaliation could be coming.
What that retaliation might look like is blurry at this point, but Sarah Shamim of the news wire Aljazeera, said in an article that “Europe is now considering deploying a ‘trade bazooka’ – a powerful, multilayered instrument in its arsenal of economic deterrents.”
President Trump said last week that he had reached a framework for an agreement over Greenland with the EU, and that he was withdrawing his threats of hefty tariffs to gain control of the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Greenland has become more important for defense purposes as global warming progresses. With arctic pack ice melting in the summer, more ships have been able to find a northwest passage, a route from Europe to Asian nations that is shorter and less expensive than the Panama Canal.
That makes Greenland a focal point for possible invasion of North America by Russia or even China, and news sources have said President Trump isn’t the first US president to be concerned. He’s just the most vocal and up-front with his desires.
EUROPE’S RESPONSE
Shamim said in her story that many European nations have considered responding to any of Trump’s new tariffs related to Greenland with reciprocating tariffs. Rulers there have said they really don’t want to do this but haven’t ruled it out.
A tariff war would result, which is something the leaders quoted in the story hope to avoid.
But there is an economic trade tool called the Anti-Coercion Instrument, which was designed for just such cases, and German MEP Bernd Lange, who chairs the European Parliament’s trade committee, posted on X that it should be deployed. This is what was meant by a “trade bazooka.”
The ACI “is a legal mechanism that the EU proposed late in 2021 and adopted in 2023 to protect European countries from economic pressure by non-EU countries,” Shamim said in her story.
Quoting Jo Michell, a professor of economics at the University of the West of England in Bristol, Shamim said, “the ACI restricts the access of US corporations to sell products in the European market. This is the European Union’s most powerful economic weapon.
“In includes fees and charges on imports of goods and services, restrictions on US investment into the EU and a possible ban on public sector contracts for US companies.”
Such a measure would be very hard on trade and access for US goods and services, a major part of President Trump agenda this term.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $233.00 per cwt to $240.00, compared with last week’s range of $232.66 to $237.00 per cwt. FOB dressed steers and heifers went for $365.91 per cwt to $371.34, compared with $365.05 to $371.88.
The USDA choice cutout Wednesday was up $1.63 per cwt at $369.74 while select was down $1.62 at $363.57. The choice/select spread widened to $6.17 from $2.92 with 69 loads of fabricated product and 16 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The USDA-listed the weighted average wholesale price for fresh 90% lean beef as $410.43 per cwt, and 50% beef was $153.24.
The USDA said basis bids for corn from feeders in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $0.95 to $1.10 a bushel over the Mar corn contract, which settled at $4.30, up $0.03 1/2.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Tuesday was $363.99 per cwt, down $0.74. This compares with Wednesday’s Jan contract settlement of $368.10, up $1.25, and Mar’s $365.85, up $3.85.