COPENHAGEN — President Donald Trump said he may impose trade tariffs on countries that do not support his push to acquire Greenland, escalating a dispute as a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation arrived in Denmark to signal backing for Copenhagen and the island’s self-rule.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
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The comments landed as senators and representatives from both parties began a two-day visit to Copenhagen aimed at reassuring Denmark and Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, of broad U.S. support beyond the White House. The group opened meetings at the Danish employers’ association Dansk Industri and was due to meet members of parliament, where the Greenlandic flag was hoisted in a show of unity. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s office declined to confirm whether she met the delegation.
“We are showing bipartisan solidarity with the people of this country and with Greenland. They’ve been our friends and allies for decades,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told reporters. “The statements being made by the president do not reflect what the American people feel.”
Greenlandic leaders have uniformly rejected any transfer of sovereignty. Danish officials said after talks in Washington this week that Copenhagen and Washington remain in “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland’s future and that they had not changed the administration’s position on acquiring the island.
The dispute has widened into a transatlantic signal of resolve in the Arctic. European countries have dispatched small teams of military personnel to Greenland to prepare for future exercises, part of what French armed forces minister Alice Rufo called an effort to “send a signal” to “everyone,” including the United States, that Europe will defend its sovereignty. “A first team of French service members is already on site and will be reinforced in the coming days with land, air and maritime assets,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. Denmark has also said it is strengthening defense on the island, and military personnel were more visible in Nuuk this week.
Asked whether allied troop movements would affect the administration’s calculus, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she did not believe “troops in Europe impact the president’s decision-making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all.”
Trump, who first floated buying Greenland in 2019, argues the mineral-rich, strategically located island is vital to U.S. national security and has criticized Denmark over its stewardship of the territory. Greenland, as part of the Kingdom of Denmark, is covered by NATO’s collective defense umbrella.
In Nuuk, some residents welcomed congressional outreach. “Congress would never approve of a military action in Greenland,” said a 39-year-old union representative, speaking on condition of anonymity. “If people in Congress want to save their own democracy, they have to step up.”
Large demonstrations are planned for Saturday across Denmark and Greenland, including in Nuuk, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense, according to organizers.
On Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats have discussed legislation to rein in any unilateral move to seize Greenland. A separate House bill in support of annexation has also been introduced. Jeff Landry, Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, said he plans to visit the territory in March and believes “there’s a deal that should and will be made once this plays out.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., warned that talk of taking over Greenland undermines NATO and benefits U.S. rivals. “I know there are real, deep concerns here in Denmark and in Greenland,” she said in remarks prepared for delivery in Copenhagen. “But I believe saner heads will prevail.”
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 17% of Americans approve of efforts to acquire Greenland and large majorities in both parties oppose using force to annex it. Trump has dismissed the survey as “fake.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has called a U.S. acquisition “out of the question.”
The U.S. delegation includes Sens. Durbin, Chris Coons, Jeanne Shaheen, Peter Welch, Lisa Murkowski and Thom Tillis; and House members Madeleine Dean, Steny Hoyer, Sara Jacobs, Sarah McBride and Gregory Meeks.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
