Greenland: Proposed US Tariffs

Lord Scriven Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

There are many ways that the current situation and the concerns that the United States has could be resolved. What matters is that that is done collegiately, diplomatically and in a way that is respectful of the alliance that we are all part of. We are hopeful that that is what can come about.

[Lord Scriven (LD)]

My Lords, if defence of diplomacy, as the Minister said, is the foremost approach of the Government, and to continue the line of questioning of my noble friend Lord Purvis, when will the WTO be brought into that diplomacy? Have the Government already reached out to the WTO about these tariffs?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

My response is the same, essentially. Decisions on the measures we use and the institutions we involve will be made using the test of whether those decisions are likely to improve the situation, de-escalate and bring us closer to resolution or make negotiations more difficult, raise the temperature and make a straightforward resolution harder to achieve. That is the test that we will apply at every stage.