Trump says he may impose tariffs on countries not supporting US’ control of Greenland

United States President Donald Trump on Friday indicated that he could punish countries with tariffs if they do not support Washington controlling Greenland, AP reported.

Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, a US ally.

Trump has repeatedly raised the idea of acquiring Greenland from Denmark. He first floated the idea in 2019 during his first term as the president. Greenland has repeatedly said that it does not want to be part of the US, which already operates a military base on the island.

On Friday, the US president said: “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland.”

He reiterated that Washington needed the Arctic island for “national security”.

The remarks came as a bipartisan group of US lawmakers, mostly Democrats, held meetings with leaders in Copenhagen to counter Trump’s repeated threats about taking over Greenland.

The delegation from Washington said that the US president’s long-held territorial ambitions were not shared by American citizens, AFP reported. “Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” the news agency quoted Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski as having said.

Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, AP reported.

This came after Trump’s suggestion on January 9 that the US could use force to seize Greenland, adding that Washington needed to control the territory to prevent Russia or China from occupying it.

“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” AFP had quoted Trump as having said at a White House meeting with oil executives. “I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”

Trump said that controlling the mineral-rich Arctic island is crucial for the security of the US amid rising military activities of Russia and China in the region.

Moscow and Beijing have made no territorial claim over Greenland.

The fresh focus on Greenland came after the US’ military operation in Venezuela. On January 3, the US military abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, for alleged drug trafficking.

While Greenland is self-governed, it relies on the Danish government for defence and foreign policy.

Earlier this month, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had warned that a US invasion of Greenland would end “everything”, referring to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Denmark and the US are members of the military alliance of 32 North American and European countries that promise to protect each other if any one of them is attacked.

Leaders from major European countries and Canada have rallied behind the Arctic territory, saying that Greenland “belongs to its people”.

Also read:

• Greenland: Trump’s very serious bid to buy the island is for resources, strategic value

• Trump wants Greenland – but many Greenlanders want independence