ariffs, Threats, and Farage on a Lead

Tariffs. That is the story. Not Greenland, not Arctic maps, not “national security”, but the fact the President of the United States is now openly using tariffs as a punishment for political disobedience.

And not just against Denmark. The threat, as reported, is aimed at any country that refuses to “go along” with his plan to control Greenland. In other words: if you oppose me, you pay. That is not how alliances work. That is how protection rackets work.

This matters for Britain because it blows up the last surviving Brexit fairytale: that we could drift away from Europe and thrive by cuddling up to America instead. Under Trump, America is not a partner. It is a lever. If he is willing to threaten tariffs against countries for refusing a territorial grab, he will use the same weapon for food standards, medicines pricing, digital tax, defence procurement, anything where he wants submission.

Tariffs are not clever, either. They are a tax on consumers and businesses, sold as patriotism. They trigger retaliation, distort supply chains, and make trade less predictable. Big economies can swagger through that sort of self harm for a while. Medium sized ones get battered.

So Britain’s interest is obvious. We need to be anchored to the EU, because that is where our trade actually is, and because the EU is the only structure in our neighbourhood with the economic weight to resist this kind of nonsense. You do not counter a bully by standing alone in the playground. You do it by standing with the other kids who can hit back.

And then there is Nigel Farage, standing in the corner like a man who has just realised the dog he has been praising is not a noble wolf but a guard dog that bites everyone, including the owner.

Farage has spent years selling Trump as Britain’s great ally and a US trade deal as the Brexit jackpot. Now Trump is threatening tariffs against any country that refuses to fall in line over Greenland. That is the model Farage admires: sovereignty for America, obedience for everyone else.

It is humiliating. Not just for Farage, but for anyone who swallowed the idea that “taking back control” meant swapping Brussels for Washington. If Trump can economically threaten allies over a land grab, Britain is not going to be treated as an equal partner. We are going to be treated as a client.

So yes, Greenland matters. But the bigger point is the tariff threat itself. It tells you exactly what Trumpism is: power without restraint, deals without loyalty, and punishment as policy.

If Farage still wants to hitch Britain to that, he should at least have the honesty to call it what it is. Not independence. Not sovereignty.