President Trump suggested on Friday that the US may impose new tariffs on countries that oppose a US acquisition of Greenland.
“I may put on a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said at a roundtable event on healthcare (see clip below).
Trump didn’t offer any specific details about what the tariff would look like and moved on from the topic to talk about healthcare instead.
His comments follow tense talks between officials from the US and Denmark, which is responsible for Greenland’s defense, about the autonomous territory’s future.
Trump has renewed his interest in taking control of Greenland following the US strike on Venezuela that removed its leader, Nicolás Maduro. “One way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland,” Trump said previously, noting that he’d prefer a negotiated settlement.
Since the talks at the White House, NATO countries Germany, France, Sweden, and Norway have committed to sending military personnel to the island for what they have called a reconnaissance mission. Denmark’s foreign minister has said that Denmark and Greenland “still have a fundamental disagreement” with the US about control of the island.