Eight nations targeted by new White House tariffs have hit back at President Donald Trump, accusing the U.S. of threatening to undermine transatlantic relationships and risking a "dangerous downward spiral."

The US president earlier said Nato would be in "the ash heap of history" without him, after doubling down on his Greenland demands.

President Trump was reportedly outraged over the deployment of European troops to Greenland for military exercises, which some government officials believe may have escalated tensions between the

Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Europe must ready an economic “bazooka” in response to President Trump’s threat to take Greenland by force. “If Mr Trump does not

"As such, the more likely outcome, in our view, is that both sides recognize that a major escalation would be a lose-lose proposition, and that compromise eventually prevails."

If anyone in Europe knows NATO and Danish politics, it’s Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the military alliance’s former secretary general and a former Danish prime minister. “Tariffs on allies make no sense,” Rasmussen told The Wall Street Journal.

The prime minister also tells the US president that security in the Arctic remains a priority "for all Nato allies".

Mr. Trump previously threatened to impose tariffs against countries that do not support his plans to acquire the territory.