16-year Davos veteran says U.S.-European crisis is unprecedented
Each January, as predictably as New Year follows Christmas, global business leaders, politicians, and advocacy groups pull on their snow boots and $1,000 Arc’teryx Macai jackets to converge on the Swiss ski resort of Davos for the World Economic Forum’s yearly gathering.
The WEF attracts plenty of criticism—a playground of hot air for the wealthy and powerful, disconnected from everyday realities on Main Street, fixated on ‘global dialogue’ and the ‘rules-based order’. The list of accusations from detractors sounds familiar.
Yet when that very rules-based order faces threats and crisis looms, this mountain conference suddenly becomes purposeful.
In the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown, with Western capitalism nearing paralysis, the meetings crackled with tension as banking titans—including Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, and Bob Diamond, chief executive of —confronted heads of state. I witnessed the 2011 showdown in the main congress hall when Dimon declared government regulation had overreached (‘Too much is too much,’ he protested), only to be immediately rebuked by then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy from the same stage. It was a clash for the history books.
Having attended Davos for 16 years, I find this year most evocative of those post-credit-crunch confrontations when capitalism’s very foundations were under scrutiny. Now, the challenge is the international order and Western cohesion amid starkly divergent approaches to a mounting series of threats.
President Donald Trump, appearing for the first time since 2020, will command center stage. On Gaza, Venezuela, Ukraine—and most startlingly for Europe, Greenland—the president has hurled numerous boulders into a diplomatic waters already churning with predators.
Over the weekend, he vowed to levy heightened tariffs against nations obstructing U.S. annexation of Greenland (a self-governing territory belonging to Denmark)—starting at 10% now, escalating to 25% by June. His targets include France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, all of which have voiced criticism.
“After 16 years of Davos attendance, this year most recalls those post-credit-crunch confrontations when the very fundamentals of capitalism were being questioned…”
The European Union has retaliated, indicating a fresh trade war between two of the globe’s mightiest economies. French President Emannuel Macron has insisted the EU deploy its ‘anti-coercion instrument’ for the first time—a trade defense mechanism introduced in 2023 to protect EU members from Chinese tariffs. In Brussels, discussions center on €93 billion ($108 billion) in new duties and curbs on U.S. firms operating in the EU. European stock indices are tumbling. Gold prices—a safe haven in turbulent markets—have hit record peaks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses the forum tomorrow, while Trump is scheduled for Wednesday, accompanied by the largest U.S. delegation ever to attend the World Economic Forum—featuring five Cabinet Secretaries and hundreds of officials. Numerous bilateral talks are being rapidly organized to seek resolution to the escalating verbal conflict.
“Territorial integrity and sovereignty are core tenets of international law,” von der Leyen stated over the weekend. “They are vital for Europe and the entire international community. Tariffs would erode transatlantic ties and trigger a perilous downward spiral.”
I attended Davos in 2017 when Xi Jinping extolled the virtues of free trade, and in 2018 when Trump assured attendees that America First didn’t equate to America Alone. In 2026, Trump will once again command the spotlight—a president racing to reconfigure the global order. Europe’s actions now will shape the trajectory of his entire presidency. Can a Greenland security arrangement be negotiated to meet Trump’s demands? Will he implement the threatened tariffs? Will the EU intensify its countermeasures?
For numerous attendees at this week’s World Economic Forum, penning such observations feels almost absurd. We have entered unmapped terrain.