DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he was canceling his planned tariff on U.S. allies in Europe over US control of Greenland after he and the leader of NATO agreed to a ‘framework of a future deal’ on Arctic security.
The abrupt about-face emerged hours after Trump had insisted that he wants to “get Greenland, including right, title and ownership,” but said he would not use force to do so while deriding European allies and vowing that NATO should not try to block U.S. expansionism.
In an extraordinary speech at the World Economic Forum, the president said he was asking for territory that was "cold and poorly located.” He said the U.S. had effectively saved Europe during World War II and even declared of NATO: “It’s a very small ask compared to what we have given them for many, many decades.”
“We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable. But I won’t do that, OK?” Trump said, later adding, “I don’t have to" and "I don’t want to use force.”
Trump often tries to increase pressure on the other side when he believes it can lead to a favorable deal, and he seemed happy to do so ahead of the forum in Davos.
The implications of his remarks were enormous, potentially rupturing an alliance that has held firm since the dawn of the Cold War and seemed among the globe's most unshakable pacts.
NATO was founded by leading European nations, the U.S. and Canada to form a bloc to counter the Soviet Union. Its other members have been steadfast in saying Greenland is not for sale and cannot be wrested from Denmark, meaning Trump's comments could yet mark the beginning of a larger geopolitical standoff.
The president has long said the U.S. will get control of Greenland no matter what it takes, arguing that Washington needs the world's largest island to counter threats in the surrounding Arctic Ocean from Russia and China. That's despite America already having a large military base there.
A Danish government official told The Associated Press after Trump's speech that Copenhagen is ready to discuss U.S. security concerns. But the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, underscored the government’s position that “red lines”— namely Denmark’s sovereignty — must be respected.
Greenland's government responded by telling its citizens to be prepared. It has published a handbook in English and Greenlandic on what to do in a crisis that urges residents to ensure they have sufficient food, water, fuel and supplies at home to survive for five days.
“We just went to the grocery store and bought the supplies,” said Tony Jakobsen in Greenland’s capital Nuuk said, showing off the contents of bags that included candles, snacks and toilet paper.
Jakobsen said he thought Trump’s rhetoric towards Greenland was “just threats... but it’s better to be ready than not ready.”
Trump, meanwhile, urged Denmark and the rest of NATO to stand aside, adding an ominous warning.
“We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it,” Trump said. “You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no, and we will remember.”
He also called for opening “immediate negotiations” for the U.S. to acquire Greenland. In subsequent comments to reporters, he declined to name a price that might be paid, saying only, “There’s a bigger price, and that’s the price of safety and security and national security and international security.”
Trump suggests Europe is fizzling while U.S. booms
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he was encouraged by Trump's comment about not using U.S. military force but called other parts of the speech “a way of thinking about territorial integrity that does not match the institutions we have.”
“Greenland is part of NATO. Denmark is part of NATO, and we can exercise our sovereignty in Greenland,” Løkke Rasmussen said.
In his remarks, Trump also argued that the U.S. is booming and its economy is strong, in sharp contrast to Europe.
“I want to see Europe go good, but it’s not heading in the right direction,” said Trump, who also noted, “We want strong allies, not seriously weakened ones." He said of European economies, “You all follow us down, and you follow us up.”
His arrival was delayed after a minor electrical problem on Air Force One forced a return to Washington to switch aircraft. As Trump’s motorcade headed down a narrow road to the speech site, onlookers — including some skiers — lined the route. Some made obscene gestures, and one held up a paper cursing the president.
Billionaires and top executives packed inside the forum’s Congress Hall, which held around 1,000, for Trump's keynote address. The space was filled to standing room only. Attendees used headsets to listen in six languages besides English, and the reaction was mostly polite applause.
Afterward, Trump met with the leaders of Poland, Belgium and Egypt and again repeated that the U.S. would not be invading Greenland.
“Military is not on the table," Trump said, suggesting that the parties involved would use better judgment.
Tariff threat looms large
Potentially deepening the crisis are Trump's threats to impose steep U.S. import taxes on Denmark and seven other allies unless they negotiate a transfer of the semi-autonomous territory — some European say they won't do.
Trump said the tariffs would start at 10% next month and climb to 25% in June.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed during his weekly questioning in the House of Commons, “Britain will not yield on our principles and values about the future of Greenland under threats of tariffs, and that is my clear position.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that should Trump move forward with the tariffs, the bloc's response “will be unflinching, united and proportional."
Experts and economists are warning that Trump’s Greenland tariff threat could disrupt the U.S. economy if it blows up the trade truce reached last summer between the U.S. and the EU. But the U.S. stock market largely recovered on Wednesday from its worst day since October after Trump’s talk of Greenland-related tariffs spooked investors.
Trump's housing plan overshadowed
Trump's was supposed to focus on how to lower U.S. housing prices — part of a larger effort to bring down the cost of living, which could prove a liability for the president's party of November’s midterm elections.
Greenland instead carried the day, with Trump lashing out at Denmark for being “ungrateful” for the U.S. protection of the Arctic island during the Second World War. He also mistakenly referred to Iceland, mixing up that country with Greenland four times during his speech and for the fifth time since Tuesday.
“This enormous unsecured island is actually part of North America,” Trump said. “That’s our territory.”
When he finally did mention housing in his speech, Trump suggested he did not support a measure to encourage affordability. He said bringing down rising home prices hurts property values and makes homeowners who once felt wealthy because of the equity in their houses feel poorer.
‘You have to be prepared for almost anything’
In Nuuk, resident Johnny Hedemann said it was “insulting” that Trump “talks about the Greenlandic people and the Greenlandic nation as just an ice cube.” He spoke while heading out to buy a camping stove and instant mashed potatoes.
“Living in this nature, you have to be prepared for almost anything. And now there’s another threat — and that’s Trump,” Hedemann said.
He added: “With this lunatic, you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. He can make things very bad for everyone.”
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Weissert and Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Emma Burrows in Nuuk, Greenland, Jamey Keaten in Davos and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
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