Source India Today
WASHINGTON D.C. — In a significant escalation of his administration’s foreign policy, President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States may impose sweeping trade tariffs on nations that oppose his plan to acquire Greenland.
Speaking during a roundtable event on rural health care at the White House, the President directly tied international trade cooperation to his administration’s ambition to bring the Arctic territory under U.S. control.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump told reporters. Drawing a parallel to his recent use of tariffs to lower pharmaceutical prices, he added, “I may do that for Greenland too.”
A “National Security” Imperative
The President’s remarks come just days after high-level meetings in Washington between Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and officials from Denmark and Greenland. Those talks reportedly ended in a “fundamental disagreement,” with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stating that the island is “not for sale.”
President Trump, however, has remained undeterred, framing the acquisition as a strategic necessity to prevent Russia and China from expanding their influence in the North Atlantic. He characterized the current defense of the island as inadequate, claiming that Denmark would be unable to stop an occupation by rival powers.
Diplomatic and Domestic Friction
The threat of economic retaliation has sent ripples through European capitals. While the White House pushes for what some have called a “New Monroe Doctrine” in the Arctic, a bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers traveled to Copenhagen this week to reassure allies.
Led by Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and including Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the group sought to “lower the temperature,” with Murkowski emphasizing that Greenland should be viewed as an “ally, not an asset.”
Market and Geopolitical Impact
Financial analysts have noted that the move marks a dramatic shift in how trade tools are used, moving beyond commercial disputes into the realm of territorial acquisition.
Gold and Defense: Investors have already begun shifting toward gold and European defense stocks as concerns grow over the stability of the NATO alliance.
Economic Leverage: By linking tariffs to the Greenland proposal, the administration appears ready to use the “vast power of the United States” to force a diplomatic breakthrough.
As of Friday evening, the Danish government and Greenlandic leadership have maintained their stance of rejection. However, with the President’s special envoy Jeff Landry scheduled to visit the island in March, the pressure from Washington shows no signs of waning.
