Speaking at a roundtable at the White House, Trump linked potential trade penalties directly to his Greenland ambitions.
The United States President, Donald Trump, said on Friday he could impose trade tariffs on countries that oppose his push to take control of Greenland, escalating pressure on Denmark and its allies over the strategically important Arctic territory.
Speaking at a roundtable at the White House, Trump linked potential trade penalties directly to his Greenland ambitions.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” he said. “I may do that.”
Trump compared the possible tariffs to those he threatened last year against France and Germany over pharmaceutical pricing disputes, framing trade measures as a tool to advance broader foreign policy goals.
The remarks mark the latest escalation in Trump’s campaign to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark and a member of the NATO alliance.
Trump has previously said the United States requires Greenland for strategic and security reasons and has accused the island of failing to adequately protect itself from growing Russian and Chinese influence.
He has also warned that military force could be an option if other means fail.
European leaders have rallied behind Denmark and Greenland in response to Trump’s statements.
Several countries have signalled their support by reinforcing military deployments to the Arctic region, underscoring concerns about security and sovereignty.
In Washington, a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress began a visit to Copenhagen on Friday, aiming to publicly affirm American support for Denmark and Greenland amid rising tensions.
Diplomatic efforts to ease the dispute have so far yielded limited progress.
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met with Trump administration officials at the White House on Wednesday, but said afterward that talks ended in “fundamental disagreement.”
Despite those differences, the White House said on Wednesday that the United States, Denmark, and Greenland had agreed to establish a working group that would meet every two to three weeks to continue discussions on security and cooperation in the Arctic.
For now, Trump’s tariff threat adds a new economic dimension to a dispute that has already strained transatlantic relations and raised questions about the future of US ties with key NATO allies.