A group of EU countries supported the use of the Countering Coercion Instrument against the United States.

France and a number of other countries in the European Union have approved the use of the Anti-Coercion Instrument against the United States. This instrument, which has not been used until now, became available for application at the end of 2023.

The increasingly aggressive statements from Washington regarding Greenland have prompted the European Union to consider the possibility of using this instrument. It provides the EU with means to respond to economic blackmail from non-member countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who was reportedly shocked that key European nations rejected his offer to "buy" Greenland, intends to impose additional 10% tariffs on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and the United Kingdom starting February 1, and to raise them to 25% in June. These new tariffs are added to the existing 15% tariff agreed upon by Ursula von der Leyen last year in the face of Trump's threats to impose 50% rates on European goods.
The finance ministers of Germany and France have already expressed their determination to resist economic blackmail from the U.S. Unlike Trump's previous tariff threats related to trade deficits, the current measures clearly have a political underpinning. According to the definitions of the Anti-Coercion Instrument, such actions are viewed as economic pressure to achieve specific outcomes. That is, by entering into conflict with one of the EU countries, a third state faces resistance from the entire single market.
This mechanism somewhat resembles Article 5 of the NATO charter, which states that an attack on one member of the alliance is considered an attack on all. However, unlike NATO, the EU does not depend on U.S. participation, which means that actions against Washington under the Anti-Coercion Instrument will not negatively affect other American partners.
The law defines the procedure for activating this instrument, which can be initiated either at the request of a member state or on the initiative of the European Commission. If coercion is confirmed, the priority will be to seek a solution through dialogue. Economic measures will only be considered in exceptional cases and in accordance with the principle of proportionality. Such measures may include the introduction of tariffs, import and export restrictions, limitations on trade in services, and reduced access to banking and financial markets.
Ultimately, this mechanism allows the European Union to restrict the "offender's" access to a large part of the single market without violating existing international agreements.