US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose trade sanctions on nations that oppose his proposal for the US to annex Greenland, an independent region of Denmark, a NATO ally.
Trump warned nations that do not “go along” with his Greenland proposal could suffer economic repercussions during a health discussion at the White House on Friday.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said. “I may do that.”
Trump compared the possible taxes to those he threatened to impose on France and Germany due to disagreements over pharmaceutical prices last year.
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The comments are the most recent intensification of Trump’s efforts to obtain the mineral-rich Arctic territory, an objective he has previously stated he may pursue militarily if needed. He has maintained that the territory is essential to US national security and charged that the region is not doing enough to defend itself against adversaries China and Russia.
In response to Trump’s mounting pressure, European nations have recently reaffirmed their support for Denmark and the territory, with some deploying soldiers to the strategically significant region. On Friday, a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress also travelled to Copenhagen to show support for Greenland and Denmark.
Despite the disagreement, the White House said the United States, Denmark and Greenland have agreed to establish a working group that will hold talks every two to three weeks to continue discussions on the issue
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