Trump: we have framework of a Greenland deal; tariff threat dropped
Big breaking news tonight from Davos: Donald Trump has announced that he and Nato chief Mark Rutte have agreed the framework of a “future deal” over Greenland.
It’s not clear what the details are – Trump says the proposed solution would be a great one for the US, and all NATO Nations
And significantly, Trump says he won’t impose the 10% tariffs threatened on eight European countries including the UK.
Here’s the post, from Trump’s Truth Social site:
Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations — They will report directly to me. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
DONALD J. TRUMP
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Our US Politics Live blog is tracking all the developments, with Shrai Popat, here:
Updated
Closing summary
Donald Trump ruled out using military force to annex Greenland, but called for “immediate negotiations” to acquire the Arctic island. The US president also told world leaders at the World Economic Form at Davos that a US acquisition of Greenland would strengthen the Nato alliance.
Meanwhile at several points during his speech, Trump appeared to confuse Greenland with Iceland, claiming “Iceland” had caused a drop in stock prices yesterday – when markets fell as a result of his threat to impose new tariffs on eight European countries. The White House swiftly did its best to deny the confusion.
The US president repeated his usual claims that Nato has treated the US unfairly, and “it’s time that Nato steps up” as “we are helping them with Ukraine”. He claimed that Greenland costs Denmark “hundreds of millions a year to run it”, and while Denmark is “a small country and wonderful people, it is very expensive” for “a very big piece of ice”. He also repeated his – offensive – questioning of whether Nato “would be there for us” (see also: 9/11).
The European parliament suspended work on the EU-US trade deal, in protest against Trump’s threat to impose 10% tariffs on EU exports unless the bloc supports his bid to take over Greenland. Bernd Lange, head of the European parliament trade committee, said until “the threats [on Greenland] are over there will be no possibility for compromise” on ratifying the US deal, which promised Americans a new era of 0% tariffs on many industrial exports.
And a meeting between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to take place tomorrow, with the US president saying on Wednesday that “we are reasonably close to deal on Ukraine”.
