First Minister urges UK Government to stand firm as Trump ups Greenland threats

The First Minister has urged the UK Government to stand firm and defend international principles and long-standing alliances, while warning that threats of new US trade tariffs could hit Welsh jobs and businesses hard.

In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Eluned Morgan said Wales could be disproportionately affected by any escalation in tariffs proposed by US President Donald Trump, who has threatened economic measures unless the UK supports his desire to purchase Greenland.

The First Minister highlighted the deep economic ties between Wales and the United States, stressing that stability in the trading relationship is vital at a time when many businesses and households are already under pressure from the cost-of-living crisis.

In the year to September 2025, Welsh goods exports to the US, excluding oil products, were valued at £2.1 billion. More than 1,000 Welsh businesses – around a third of all exporters in Wales – currently sell goods to the American market.

Unlike much of the rest of the UK, Wales exports a higher proportion of goods rather than services to the US, making it particularly vulnerable to tariff increases.

Around 59% of Welsh exports to the US are goods, compared with 32% across the UK as a whole.

Baroness Morgan said increased tariffs would place further strain on Welsh firms and workers. She described the threat of tariffs against allies as “unacceptable and aggressive”, adding that as First Minister she would “defend Welsh jobs to the hilt”.

“There are around 330 US-based companies operating in Wales, employing just over 40,000 people,” she said. “I recognise the importance of the US to the Welsh economy, but there comes a point where principle must be respected. It is the people of Greenland and Denmark who should determine the future of the island, and international law must be upheld.”

Threatened

She added: “We cannot continue to be threatened with more tariffs by Donald Trump. At this critical moment, we must stand by our allies and the values we hold dear.”

Her intervention comes as tensions escalated after Mr Trump said he was “100% committed” to imposing tariffs on the UK and several European allies, and again refused to rule out the use of military force to seize Greenland, a Danish territory with strategic importance in the Arctic.

Sir Keir Starmer has appealed for calm, insisting disputes between allies should be resolved through dialogue rather than economic pressure or threats. The Prime Minister said the future of Greenland was a matter solely for the island and Denmark, and that using tariffs in this way was “completely wrong”.

The Welsh Government’s concerns echo wider fears across the UK that a trade dispute could damage fragile economic recovery.