More or Less - Could Europe use its financial muscle to strong-arm the US?
Download Could Europe use its financial muscle to strong-arm the US?
Could European Nato members use their large holdings of US shares and bonds to put pressure on America? It’s a question that some in Europe found themselves asking as the geopolitical crisis over Greenland escalated and leaders desperately tried to think of ways to dissuade Donald Trump.
It is true that trillions of dollars of American financial assets are held in Europe. But the devil, as ever, is in the detail.
Tim Harford talks to Toby Nangle, a journalist with the Financial Times, to drill down into the numbers.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Nathan Gower
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Editor: Richard Vadon
Programme Coordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Engineer: James Beard
Published on Saturday, 31st January 2026.
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