After backing down on Greenland tariffs, Trump says ‘framework of future deal’ reached

“Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland,” he said.

‘Say no and we will remember’

The US president, on Wednesday (Jan 20), ratcheted up his rhetoric on Greenland in his speech at the Davos World Economic Forum. Calling for an “immediate negotiations on the acquisition of Greenland”, Trump said: “Say no and we will remember”.

At the same time, he sought to downplay the issue, calling Greenland a “piece of ice”, and framing the US desire for control as essential for “world protection”.

“We want a piece of ice for world protection… We’ve never asked for anything else—and we could have kept that piece of land, and we didn’t. So, they have a choice. You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no, and we will remember,” he said.

After talking about his one year in the highest office in the US, the recent military operation in Venezuela — in which the then President of the country, Nicolas Maduro, was captured and brought to America — and criticising former US president Joe Biden, Trump asked the audience members: “Would you like to me to speak a few words on Greenland? I was going to leave it out of the speech…But I think I would have been reviewed very negatively.”