US Tariffs, Greenland, and the Impact on Northern Ireland Trade

US President, Donald Trump, has made a surprise announcement that the United States will implement additional customs tariffs of 10% on imports from eight European countries from 1 February 2026, increasing to 25% from 1 June 2026. The tariffs are reportedly linked to opposition of US control in Greenland, with President Trump stating:

“This tariff will be due and payable until such time as a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland.”

The countries affected are Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Many will view this move as an act of political coercion, rather than a defensive measure designed to protect the US domestic market, and given the language used, it is difficult to argue otherwise.

How will this impact Northern Ireland?

Following last year’s wave of global tariffs imposed by President Trump, both the UK and the EU reached separate trade arrangements with the United States in the form of the UK–US Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD) and the EU–US Trade Deal respectively.

These agreements resulted in minimum tariffs of:

• 10% on US imports of UK-produced goods (including Northern Ireland), and

• 15% on US imports of EU-produced goods (including the Republic of Ireland).

These rates do not include commodity-specific duties already in place in the US, such as those on steel and automotive components.

The newly announced tariffs would apply in addition to these existing measures.

At present (though this could change rapidly), goods originating in the Republic of Ireland will not be subject to the new “Greenland” tariffs and will retain the existing 15% baseline. By contrast, goods produced in Northern Ireland will face an additional 10% tariff from 1 February, increasing the total minimum tariff on NI-produced goods exported to the US to 20%, with a significant risk of further escalation.

Why retaliation matters

As the EU operates as a trading bloc with a common external tariff, any retaliatory measures introduced by the EU would apply across all member states and, due to Northern Ireland’s operation within the EU single market for goods, could have significant consequences for importers.

If the EU were to introduce countermeasures, this would not only increase duty liabilities on at-risk imports, but could also result in US-origin goods entering Northern Ireland losing their eligibility to be treated as “not at risk”, regardless of whether the UK is in alignment.

In this scenario, options remain for importers in Northern Ireland to mitigate duty exposure through mechanisms such as the Customs Duty Waiver Scheme and Duty Reimbursement Scheme. However, their availability and effectiveness would depend heavily on:

• Any implementation of UK countermeasures

• Whether the US origin goods are imported from GB or from a third country outside the EU/UK.

This remains a highly volatile situation and could change in either direction with very little warning.

If you have concerns regarding US trade and its impact on Northern Ireland, please feel free to contact Trade Path NI.