Here are the European exporters most exposed if Trumpâs Greenland tariffs kick in
Published Mon, Jan 19 2026
5:53 AM EST
Sam Meredith@in/samuelmeredith@smeredith19WATCH LIVEKey Points
- Trump has pledged to impose 10% tariffs on eight European countries from Feb. 1, ramping up his push to make Greenland a part of the United States.
- The levy will rise to 25% from June 1, Trump said.
- CNBC takes a look at some of the most exposed European sectors.
In this article
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Jan. 16, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Tom Brenner | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened a rising wave of tariffs on several European allies, raising the alarm for industries and businesses across the region.
Trump on Saturday pledged to impose 10% tariffs on the U.K., Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland by Feb. 1, ramping up his push to make Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, a part of the United States.
The levy on these countries will rise to 25% from June 1, Trump said.
European political leaders are set to hold emergency talks over the coming days as they consider their response, with retaliatory measures and broader punitive economic policies reportedly on the table.
CNBC takes a look at some of the sectors expected to be the most exposed to Trump's tariff threats.
Autos
Europe's car giants, which were hit hard by Trump's back-and-forth trade policies last year, are considered to be highly exposed once again.
The automotive sector is widely regarded as acutely vulnerable to levies, particularly given the high globalization of supply chains and the heavy reliance on manufacturing operations across North America.
Germany's Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz Group were all trading more than 2.5% lower on Monday morning, with Milan-listed Stellantis last seen down by around 2.1%.
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These European industries are most at risk from Trumpâs tariff threats
Squawk Box EuropeMohit Kumar, chief European economist at Jefferies, said Trump's tariffs clearly represent a negative development for Germany's economic outlook, a country traditionally seen as Europe's growth engine.
"If we do get tariffs, and, of course, we have to see how the geopolitical situation pans out, then ⦠the chemicals, industrials, autos sectors, these will be the most impacted, which directly feeds to German growth," Kumar told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" on Monday.
Of the eight European countries threatened by Trump's Greenland tariffs, Germany, by far, enjoys the greatest trade surplus with the U.S., followed by France and the U.K., according to data from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.
Luxury
Luxury stocks were seen as largely sheltered from U.S.-EU trade tensions in the first quarter of last year, given their robust pricing power and ability to pass on added costs to consumers.
Analysts warned at the time, however, that the prospect of tariffs ushering in a broader economic downturn could have spillover effects, even for the wealthiest shoppers.
A Christian Dior luxury store in Paris on July 22, 2025.
Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Alongside seven other European countries, Trump's proposed tariffs single out France, which is home to the likes of industry bellwether LVMH and Kering.
Shares of LVMH and Kering fell around 3.5% and 2.6% on Monday morning. Luxury groups, including Switzerland's Richemont, Italy's Brunello Cucinelli, and Britain's Burberry, were also trading lower.
Pharma
Europe's pharma sector could face a significant impact from the proposed U.S. tariffs, given that medicines and pharma products represent the EU's largest export to the U.S.
EU exports of pharma products to the U.S. came in at 84.4 billion euros ($98.1 billion) during the first three quarters of last year, ahead of machinery and mechanical parts (68.3 billion euros) and organic chemicals (66.3 billion euros) over the same period, according to Eurostat data.
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Europe weighs using trade 'bazooka' against the U.S. as Greenland crisis deepensEuropean markets fall after Trump's Greenland tariffs threat; autos sell offAuto giant shares tumble on Trumpâs tariff threat over GreenlandSome of the sector's biggest European names fell slightly on Trump's latest tariff threats on Monday morning.
Denmark's Novo Nordisk was 2.1% lower, Switzerland's Roche dipped 0.3% lower, and France's Sanofi fell 0.9% during early deals. Swiss-based Novartis, meanwhile, traded 0.3% higher.
Energy
Europe's oil and gas stocks could also be indirectly impacted by Trump's latest tariff threats, due to factors such as weaker global demand, lower crude prices and increased supply chain costs.
Oil prices were last seen trading slightly lower amid heightened concerns of a trade war between the U.S. and Europe â and what this could mean for global demand.
Norway's Equinor was among the energy stocks leading the sector's losses on Monday, down around 3.4%. France's TotalEnergies, Britain's Shell, and BP fell between 1% and 1.5%, respectively.
Storage tanks at the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project, controlled by Equinor ASA, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, at Blomoyna, Norway, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Ozan Ãzkural, founder and managing partner at Tanto Capital, said Trump's latest tariff threats should not have been unexpected, warning of a broad impact for European sectors.
"Welcome to 2026. I think this is going to be the sort of year that we are going to talk a lot more about what it means not to have the U.S. play ball with the traditional allies," Ãzkural told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Monday.
"It's going to have an impact on oil prices, commodity prices, equity markets, debt markets, private credit. You name it, we have it," Ãzkural said.