Belgium is currently not named in the list of countries targeted by the upcoming US tariffs, which were announced after several European countries committed to sending troops to Greenland.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland until a deal is reached for the US to take over Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
The decision came after several European countries announced they would be sending military personnel to the area, which they hoped would convince Trump to abandon his annexation plans.
While Belgium announced on Friday that it would participate in the international reconnaissance mission in Greenland, it is currently not targeted by the recently announced Trump tariffs.
It remains unclear why Belgium is not on the list, or how exactly the tariffs would impact the targeted countries.
In an interview with VRT NWS, International Economics professor, Jan Van Hove, said that "in principle, the European Union is a single bloc, a single integrated market...So there is a single tariff that the European Union imposes on its trading partners and, conversely, a single tariff that its trading partners impose on the European Union."
Belgium's Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot reacted to the US tariffs on Monday morning in an interview on Radio 1's De Ochtend."We must stop being naive, we must come up with a good response," he said.
"The United States has requested greater attention to its security in the Arctic region. In response, some NATO countries have decided to send a few soldiers to Greenland for an exploratory mission. But the US seems to have seen this as an anti-American move. That is, of course, wrong."
A special summit with EU leaders is set to take place in Brussels on Thursday evening to discuss relations with the United States, according to a spokesperson for the European Council President António Costa.
In the lead-up to the summit, intensive discussions are underway on a common European response to the new threats from Washington.
The European Commission, headed by President Ursula von der Leyen, already advocated diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis on Monday.
"It’s clear from the consultations among EU leaders, including President von der Leyen, that the priority here is to engage, not escalate, and avoid the imposition of tariffs as this ultimately harms consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," said a Commission spokesperson.
