Europe won't bow to bullies: Macron,Trade is being weaponized: Carney

French President Emmanuel Macron said the European Union should not bend to "the law of the strongest", adding that it was "crazy" that the bloc was having to contemplate using its "anti-coercion instrument" against the United States. "We do believe that we need more growth, we need more stability in this world, but we do prefer respect to bullies. And we do prefer rule of law to brutality," Macron told the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos. Macron spoke out against Donald Trump's latest tariff threat, describing his approach to trade deals as bullying and an attempt to weaken and subordinate Europe. The French leader called on the EU to be ready to activate its powerful anti-coercion mechanism, colloquially called the "trade bazooka". He warned against "useless aggressivity" and said France preferred "respect to bullies" following US President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs over Greenland and the Board of Peace.

“We are reaching a time of instability, of imbalances...," says @EmmanuelMacron as he takes the stage for his Special Address. #WEF26 pic.twitter.com/O98cpwiJks

— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 20, 2026

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the US‑led global system of governance is enduring "a rupture," defined by great power competition and a "fading" rules‑based order. "Let me be clear: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition... We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false. The strongest would exempt themselves when convenient. That trade rules were enforced asymmetrically. ... That international law applied with varying rigour depending on the identity of the accused or the victim," he said. Without naming the United States or President Donald Trump, Carney pointed squarely at what he called "American hegemony", arguing that great powers are now weaponising the very economic integration that once promised shared prosperity.

In an era of great power rivalry, Canada is choosing to be principled and pragmatic. To name reality, to act together, and to build what we claim to believe in. pic.twitter.com/ytZKt6sRyw

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) January 20, 2026

Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever said the 27-member bloc was "at a crossroads" where it must decide on how to get out of a "very bad position" after trying to appease Trump to get his support for the Ukraine war. "Being a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else," De Wever said of Trump's threats to impose tariffs over Greenland.