Jan. 17 (UPI) — Eight NATO member nations will be subjected to tariffs if they don’t remove recently deployed troops from Greenland, President Donald Trump said.
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom will be assessed 10% tariffs as of Feb. 1, which would more than double to 25% on June 1, if they do not remove their troops from Greenland, Trump said Saturday.
Greenland is a territory owned by Denmark, which Trump wants to make part of the United States for military purposes and says will be occupied by China or Russia if it does not become a U.S. territory.
“World Peace is at stake!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it.”
He said Greenland has “two dogsleds as protection, one added recently,” and could not defend itself against an incursion by Russia or China.
“Only the United States of America … can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!” the president said. “Nobody will touch this sacred piece of land, especially since the national security of the United States, and the world at large, is at stake.”
He said the eight NATO nations targeted with tariffs “have journeyed to Greenland for purposes unknown” and called it a “very dangerous situation for the safety, security and survival of our planet.”
The president said Greenland is needed to deploy the proposed “golden dome” aerial defense system and other modern weapons systems that can support offensive and defensive military operations to protect North America against military attacks.
“This very brilliant, but highly complex system can only work at its maximum potential and efficiency, because of angles, metes and bounds, if this land is included in it,” Trump said.
“The United States of America is immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these countries that have put so much at risk, despite all that we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades.”
The president wants to buy the whole of Greenland, which has been rejected by leaders in Denmark and Greenland.
The United States has a military base on Greenland, which has become more strategically important due to new shipping lanes emerging near it and more natural resources becoming accessible in the region as the world continues to warm.
U.S. officials have tried to buy Greenland for more than 150 years, but Denmark consistently has opposed such offers.
