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President\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0on Wednesday scrapped the tariffs that he threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for U.S. control\u00a0over Greenland, pulling a dramatic reversal shortly after insisting he wanted to get the island \u201cincluding right, title and ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a post on his social media site, Trump said he had agreed with\u00a0the head of NATO\u00a0on a \u201cframework of a future deal\u201d on Arctic security, potentially defusing tension that had far-reaching geopolitical implications.<\/p>\n
He said \u201cadditional discussions\u201d on Greenland were being held concerning the\u00a0Golden Dome missile defense program, a multilayered, $175 billion system that for the first time will put U.S. weapons in space.<\/p>\n
Trump offered few details, saying they were still being worked out. But one idea NATO members have discussed as part of a compromise with Trump was that Denmark and the alliance would work with the U.S. to build more U.S. military bases on Greenland.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to a European official familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment publicly. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was not immediately clear if that idea was included in the framework Trump announced.<\/p>\n
The president has threatened tariffs before only to back away. In April, after first saying he would slap\u00a0massive import levies\u00a0on nations from around the world, which prompted a sharp negative market reaction, Trump eased off.<\/p>\n
But his change of heart this time came only after he used his speech at the\u00a0World Economic Forum\u00a0in the Swiss Alps to focus on Greenland and threatened to upend NATO, an alliance that has been among the globe\u2019s most unshakable since the early days of the Cold War.<\/p>\n
In his address, Trump said he was asking for territory that was \u201ccold and poorly located\u201d and that the U.S. had effectively saved Europe during World War II while declaring of NATO: \u201cIt\u2019s a very small ask compared to what we have given them for many, many decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe probably won\u2019t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable. But I won\u2019t do that, OK?\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
But Trump has also said repeatedly that, while the U.S. will defend NATO, he wasn\u2019t convinced the alliance will backup Washington, if needed, and suggested that was at least part of the reason for his aggressive stance toward Greenland. That prompted\u00a0NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in a post-speech event with Trump, to say that the alliance would stand with the U.S. if it is attacked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can be assured, absolutely,\u201d Rutte said. A short time later came Trump\u2019s post canceling the tariffs.<\/p>\n
Danish Foreign Minister Lars L\u00f8kke Rasmussen said he welcomed Trump ruling out taking \u201cGreenland by force\u201d and pausing \u201dthe trade war with Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, let\u2019s sit down and find out how we can address the American security concerns in the Arctic while respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Trump argues that the U.S. needs Greenland for national security and to counter threats from Russia and China in the Arctic region, despite America already having a large military base there. He\u00a0threatened to impose steep U.S. import taxes on Denmark and seven other allies\u00a0unless they negotiate a transfer of the semi-autonomous territory.<\/p>\n
The tariffs were to have started at 10% next month and climb to 25% in June.<\/p>\n
Trump often tries to increase pressure on the other side when he believes it can lead to a favorable agreement. His threats at Davos appeared on the verge of rupturing NATO, which was founded by leading European nations, the U.S. and Canada to counter the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n
The alliance\u2019s other members were steadfast in saying Greenland is not for sale and cannot be wrested from Denmark, while angrily rejecting Trump\u2019s promised tariffs.<\/p>\n
A Danish government official told The Associated Press after Trump\u2019s speech that Copenhagen was ready to discuss U.S. security concerns. But the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, underscored the government\u2019s position that \u201cred lines\u201d\u2014 namely Denmark\u2019s sovereignty \u2014 must be respected.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear how Trump\u2019s canceling of tariffs might change such calculations.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Greenland\u2019s government responded by telling its citizens to be prepared. It has published a handbook in English and Greenlandic on what to do in a crisis that urges residents to ensure they have sufficient food, water, fuel and supplies at home to survive for five days.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just went to the grocery store and bought the supplies,\u201d said Tony Jakobsen in\u00a0Greenland\u2019s capital Nuuk\u00a0said, showing off the contents of bags that included candles, snacks and toilet paper.<\/p>\n
Jakobsen said he thought Trump\u2019s rhetoric towards Greenland was \u201cjust threats\u2026 but it\u2019s better to be ready than not ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before backing down, Trump had urged Denmark and the rest of NATO to stand aside, adding an ominous warning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won\u2019t give it,\u201d Trump said. \u201cYou can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no, and we will remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also called for opening \u201cimmediate negotiations\u201d for the U.S. to acquire Greenland. In subsequent comments to reporters, he declined to name a price that might be paid, saying only, \u201cThere\u2019s a bigger price, and that\u2019s the price of safety and security and national security and international security.\u201d<\/p>\n
His arrival in Davos was delayed after a minor\u00a0electrical problem on Air Force One\u00a0forced a return to Washington to switch aircraft. As Trump\u2019s motorcade headed down a narrow road to the speech site, onlookers \u2014 including some skiers \u2014 lined the route, some making obscene gestures.<\/p>\n
Financial markets that had\u00a0fallen sharply\u00a0on Trump\u2019s threatened tariffs\u00a0bounced back\u00a0Wednesday. Also breathing a sigh of relief were a number of U.S. officials who had also been concerned that Trump\u2019s hard-line stance and bellicose rhetoric toward Greenland, Denmark and other NATO allies could harm other foreign policy goals.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s Davos speech was originally supposed to focus on how to lower U.S. housing prices \u2014 part of a larger effort to bring down the cost of living. Greenland instead carried the day, though Trump mistakenly referred to it as Iceland four times during his speech.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis enormous unsecured island is actually part of North America,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThat\u2019s our territory.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he finally did mention housing, Trump suggested he did not support a measure to encourage affordability. He said bringing down rising home prices hurts property values and makes homeowners who once felt wealthy because of the equity in their houses feel poorer.<\/p>\n
Before Trump announced that he was abandoning the tariffs and potentially easing international pressure, his speech left people in Nuuk preparing for the worst.<\/p>\n
Resident Johnny Hedemann said it was \u201cinsulting\u201d that Trump \u201ctalks about the Greenlandic people and the Greenlandic nation as just an ice cube.\u201d He spoke while heading out to buy a camping stove and instant mashed potatoes.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiving in this nature, you have to be prepared for almost anything. And now there\u2019s another threat \u2014 and that\u2019s Trump,\u201d Hedemann said.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Weissert and Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Emma Burrows in Nuuk, Greenland, Jamey Keaten in Davos and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Fortune #Article #Fortune<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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