President Donald Trump yesterday said he may put a tariff on countries that do not support his plan for the United States to control Greenland.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said at a White House health event.
His comments came after a bipartisan delegation of US legislators met the leaders of Denmark and Greenland in Copenhagen, seeking to ‘lower the temperature’ with assurances of congressional support after Trump’s threats to seize the Arctic island.
Trump has said Greenland is vital to US security because of its strategic location and large supply of minerals and has not ruled out the use of force to take it. European nations this week sent small numbers of military personnel to the island at Denmark’s request.
The 11-member US delegation, led by Democratic Senator Chris Coons, met Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen, as well as Danish and Greenlandic parliamentarians.
“There’s a lot of rhetoric, but there’s not a lot of reality in the current discussion in Washington,” Coons told reporters following the meetings, saying the legislators would seek to ‘lower the temperature’ on returning home.
Trump’s special envoy to Greenland said he planned to visit the Danish territory in March, and that he believed a deal could be done.
“I do believe that there’s a deal that should and will be made once this plays out,” Jeff Landry told Fox News in an interview. “The president is serious. I think he’s laid the markers down. He’s told Denmark what he’s looking for.”
The delegation in Copenhagen included Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski, while the rest were Democratic legislators.
“I think it is important to underscore that when you ask the American people whether or not they think it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, the vast majority, some 75 per cent, will say we do not think that is a good idea,” Murkowski told a Press conference.
“This senator from Alaska does not think it is a good idea.”
Legislators from both Trump’s Republican Party and opposition Democrats have said they would back legislation to rein in Trump’s ability to seize Greenland, amid an ongoing fight over war powers, which the Constitution grants to Congress. A House bill in support of annexing Greenland has also been introduced.
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