Trump drops European tariff threat as he touts ‘future’ Greenland deal
President Donald Trump has said that he will not impose tariffs on US trading partners on February 1 after he and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte “formed the framework of a future deal” for Greenland and the “entire Arctic region”.
Trump’s announcement on Truth Social came after he backed down from threats of taking Greenland by military force, which had rattled fellow Nato members and had threatened a devastating rupture of the alliance.
He told CNBC that the Greenland framework involved mineral rights for the US.
The US President’s move to withdraw the looming tariff threat related to Greenland offers a sudden reprieve to global markets, and will ease fears of a breakdown in the transatlantic relationship.
US stocks rose after Trump withdrew his threat to impose tariffs. The S&P 500 was up 1.2 per cent in late afternoon trading in New York, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.3 per cent.
Trump said vice-president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff would represent the US in negotiations. He also said there would be “additional discussions” about Greenland’s role in the Golden Dome, the layered missile defence shield he has commissioned to protect the US against advanced missile threats.
Trump said the deal would be “great” for the US and all Nato allies.
Rutte says he did not discuss with Trump if Greenland would remain part of Denmark
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said he did not discuss whether Greenland would remain a part of the Kingdom of Denmark during Davos talks with Donald Trump.
“That issue did not come up”, Rutte told Fox News on Wednesday after his meeting with the US president.
Denmark welcomes Trump’s call to pause trade war, says foreign minister
Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has said he welcomes US President Donald Trump’s decision to rule out taking Greenland by force and pause the trade war but signalled that negotiations will continue.
“The day is ending on a better note than it began. We welcome that POTUS has ruled out [taking] Greenland by force and paused the trade war,” Rasmussen said in a post on X.
“Now, let’s sit down and find out how we can address the American security concerns in the Arctic while respecting the red lines of the [Kingdom of Denmark].”