In a significant ramping up of the bid to buy Greenland, President Donald Trump warned that he could put new taxes, in the form of tariffs, on foreign countries like those that don’t support his plan. The President made his remarks at a White House event, asserting that possession of the massive Arctic island is a question of “national security” for the United States.
The President reiterated that he is ready to wield those same taxes “as a tool” to obtain what he wants, just as he has with other countries to change the price of medicine. “I’m not going to say it couldn’t be done, because nothing’s impossible,” Trump said, adding that “we can do a lot” with tariffs on countries if they don’t cooperate with the sale of Greenland, although he did not specify which countries or products would be targeted by such punitive measures.
Why Greenland? A Growing Focus on the Arctic
The U.S. government views Greenland as critical to American security, an unsinkable aircraft carrier sandwiched between North America and the North Pole. The U.S. is at least a decade from ceding its place as Taiwan’s sole protector, but every president since Ronald Reagan faced a conundrum: reflecting the fact that U.S.-Chinese relations were too important to sacrifice for an island, while deterring China from using force against it to goad the U.S. out of Asia. Trump has been quite explicit on this subject; if there need to miss what he means when he says that if the United States doesn’t dominate Taiwan, then its rivals will come and take over, meaning Russia or China or both.
The U.S. already has a military base in Greenland, but Trump maintains that the only means of protecting American interests is being the full owner of the land. But both Greenland and Denmark’s leaders have made clear to the White House that the island is “not for sale.”
A Heated Conflict with Allies
The new tax threat follows a high-level meeting that took place in Washington on Thursday between American officials and a delegation from Denmark and Greenland. The visitors, after the meeting, conceded there is a “broad disagreement” with the President.
The situation has deeply worried America’s traditional friends in Europe.
• Denmark’s Warning: Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that any attempt to seize Greenland by force would undermine the NATO alliance, a group of countries that promise to protect one another.
• Support in Congress: On Friday, a delegation of 11 American legislators visited Denmark in what they described as an effort to “lower the temperature.” They visited with local leaders to assure them that a majority of the U.S. government still regards Greenland as a valuable friend, and ally rather than just a piece of real estate available for purchase.
The War of Laws Over “Emergency” Taxes
Since returning to the office, President Trump has been putting taxes on nearly everything coming into the United States, using an IEEPA, a special law. This has lifted the average tax on foreign goods to something in the neighbourhood of 17%. Many people, business owners and other world leaders among them, are disputing these taxes in court.
The case is now before the Supreme Court. And the justices will decide whether the President is entitled to initiate these “trade wars” without Congress’s consent. The President said he did not believe the court would rule against his taxes, expressing hope on Friday that he would win the case and saying it would be a “shame for our country” if it did not.
What Happens Next?
Despite the threats, Greenland’s leaders are unshaken. “How would you feel if they were talking about the way in which Guam is discussed, that instead of being a territory, we could or should be part of the United States?” he said recently. “I don’t think most Americans would like that much.” Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen had previously said his people would choose Denmark over the U.S. For now, the world is watching to see what the Supreme Court decides as to whether the President can legitimately use these taxes in exerting pressure on other nations to turn over territory.
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