Daniel Bush,Correspondent in WashingtonAnd
Paulin Kola
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on countries that do not follow his ambitions to annex Greenland.
Trump said during a meeting at the White House that he “could impose tariffs on countries if they don’t come to terms with Greenland,” which is a self-governing territory controlled by Denmark.
He did not specify which countries could be hit with new tariffs, nor what authority he would invoke to use these import taxes to further his objective.
Besides Denmark and Greenland, other countries oppose its plans and many in the United States have expressed skepticism about an acquisition. As Trump spoke, a bipartisan congressional delegation was traveling to Greenland to show support for the territory.
The 11-member group included Republicans who expressed concerns about the president’s calls for the United States to acquire Greenland in some way for national security reasons. They met with MPs as well as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, the group’s leader, said their trip was intended to listen to residents and bring their views back to Washington “in order to lower the temperature.”
Trump said Greenland was vital to U.S. security — and Washington would get it “the easy way” or “the hard way” — an apparent reference to buying the island or taking it by force.
“I might impose tariffs on countries if they don’t accept Greenland, because we need Greenland for our national security,” Trump said at Friday’s White House meeting on rural health care.
Greenland is sparsely populated but rich in resources and its location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems for missile attacks and for monitoring ships in the region.
The United States already has more than 100 troops permanently stationed at its Pituffik base, a missile monitoring station on the northwest tip of Greenland that has been operated by the United States since World War II.
Under existing agreements with Denmark, the United States has the authority to send as many troops as it wants to Greenland.
But Trump said the United States must “own” the country to properly defend it against possible Russian or Chinese attacks.
Denmark has warned that military action would mean the end of NATO, the transatlantic defense alliance of which the United States is the most influential partner.
NATO operates on the principle that allies must help each other in the event of an external attack – it has never faced the possibility of one member using force against another.
European allies rallied to Denmark’s support.
They also said the Arctic region was equally important to them and its security should be a joint NATO responsibility – with US participation.
To this end, several countries, including France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, have sent a small number of troops to Greenland as part of a so-called reconnaissance mission.
French President Emmanuel Macron said “land, air and sea assets” would soon be sent.
The visit by the US congressional delegation comes days after high-level talks in Washington failed to dissuade Trump from his plans.
They include U.S. senators and members of the House of Representatives who are strong supporters of NATO.
Although Coons and the majority of the group are staunch Democratic opponents of Trump, it includes moderate Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski.
Greenlandic MP Aaja Chemnitz said the meeting with US lawmakers gave her “hope”. She told the BBC: “We need friends. We need allies.”
Asked about the wide gap between the White House’s view and the position of Greenland and Denmark, she replied: “It’s a marathon, not a short sprint.
“The pressure from the American side is something we have seen since 2019. It would be naive to think that it is all over now.”
She added: “It’s changing almost by the hour. So the more support we can get, the better.”
Murkowski is a sponsor of a bipartisan bill aimed at blocking any attempt to annex Greenland.
A Republican congressman also introduced a rival bill supporting annexation of the island.
Trump’s envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, told Fox News on Friday that the United States should speak with Greenland’s leaders, not Denmark.
“I think there’s a deal that should be made once this is all done,” he said.
“The president is serious. I think he has laid the groundwork.
“He told Denmark what he was looking for, and now it’s about getting Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio and Vice President JD Vance strike a deal.
“The United States has always been a welcoming party. We’re not going there to try to conquer anyone and take over anyone’s country.
“We say, ‘Look. We stand for freedom. We stand for economic strength. We stand for protection.'”
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met with Vance and Rubio at the White House on Wednesday.
According to a Danish official who spoke to the BBC to discuss the meeting, the US vice president offered to find “common ground” that would satisfy Trump, Denmark and Greenland.
The official said the possibility of a U.S. military takeover of Greenland was not discussed at the White House meeting.
“We have never had discussions with a senior official or minister about the possibility of the United States sending” troops to Greenland, the official said.
The Danish official nonetheless said Denmark takes Trump’s stated goal of seizing Greenland seriously.
“Our working hypothesis is that on this issue, what he says is what he thinks,” the official said.