Ramping up the pressure in the diplomatic feud over the future control of Greenland, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he will impose a 10 per cent tariff on eight European nations for their opposition to America acquiring the territory.
Casting Greenland as essential to American national security and international stability, President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “world peace is at stake”, warning that “China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it.”
Quipping that Copenhagen only has “two dogsleds” to protect its arctic territory, which it has controlled since the 18th century, Mr Trump argued that only the United States under his leadership has the capability to protect the island and to fend off major geopolitical foes.
“We have subsidized Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them Tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration. Now, after Centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back,” he wrote.
In addition to putting diplomatic pressure on the Danes, the President also announced that he would be imposing tariffs on all goods from Denmark and their European allies, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, all of whom have committed to deploying military forces to Greenland in solidarity with Denmark.
“This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet. These countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable,” he said.
The tariffs will presumably come on top of the baseline 15 per cent tariffs negotiated with the European Union and the ten per cent baseline with Britain earlier this year. Mr Trump further warned that if the issue of Greenland is not resolved by June, then the ten per cent tariff announced on Saturday will be increased to 25 per cent.
The U.S. leader noted that, although previous presidents have tried and failed for over 150 years to acquire Greenland, that failure is no longer an option for Washington, citing Greenland’s geostrategic importance for new defence systems, such as the Golden Dome missile defence system.
“Hundreds of Billions of Dollars are currently being spent on Security Programs having to do with ‘The Dome,’ including for the possible protection of Canada, and this very brilliant, but highly complex system can only work at its maximum potential and efficiency, because of angles, metes, and bounds, if this Land is included in it,” he wrote.
Mr Trump said that the United States is “immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these Countries that have put so much at risk, despite all that we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades.”
While Greenlandic and Danish officials have so far baulked at the notion of America gaining territorial control over the island, it remains to be seen if this position will change if and when the United States publishes a financial compensation offer to Copenhagen and Greenland’s 57,000 residents.
A first meeting of the three parties took place this week at the White House, with the meeting being chaired by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. While the Danish and Greenlandic officials agreed to continue high-level talks, they briefed the Danish press that there remained a “fundamental disagreement” between the two sides.
