United States President Donald Trump has said he may impose trade tariffs on countries that refuse to support his plan to take over Greenland, a territory that belongs to NATO ally Denmark.
Trump made the statement on Friday while speaking at a health roundtable at the White House, where he directly linked the potential tariffs to his Greenland ambition.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said during the event.
“I may do that,” the US president added.
Trump compared the possible Greenland-related tariffs to trade threats he issued last year against France and Germany over the pricing of pharmaceutical products.
The latest threat represents a fresh pressure tactic by the Republican president as he intensifies efforts to acquire the autonomous Arctic island, a goal he has previously indicated he could pursue by military means if required.
Trump has repeatedly argued that the United States needs mineral-rich Greenland and has accused the territory of failing to do enough to protect itself against strategic rivals such as Russia and China.
In response to Trump’s escalating rhetoric, several European nations have in recent days expressed their support for Denmark and Greenland, including by deploying troops to the strategically important territory.
A bipartisan delegation from the US Congress also began a visit to Copenhagen on Friday, where they are expected to publicly demonstrate support for both Denmark and Greenland.
Earlier in the week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland travelled to Washington and met with officials at the White House in an effort to reduce tensions over the issue.
However, both ministers said after the meeting that they remained in “fundamental disagreement” with Trump over Greenland.
Despite the differences, the White House said on Thursday that the United States, Denmark and Greenland had agreed to establish a working group to continue discussions on the matter every two to three weeks.
