Trump's New Tariff Threat, This Time Over Greenland

US President Donald Trump on Friday said that he may slap tariffs on countries that do not support his plans to take over Greenland. At a health roundtable at the White House, Trump said, "I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security."

After the US military operation to capture the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, Trump has revived his ambition to claim the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

According to the Republican leader, Greenland is under-protected as Russia and China take a greater interest in the Arctic and its minerals. Russia on Thursday dismissed the threat as a "myth". 

The US has not ruled out military takeover either, with the White House saying, "President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it's vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region. The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilising the US Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief's disposal."

Although a White House meeting over Greenland's future ended without a diplomatic breakthrough, the US, Denmark and Greenland have agreed to continue to keep talking.

As Trump pushes to acquire the island, French and German military personnel have been more visible in Greenland to reassure Trump over its security. However, Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing, "I don't think troops in Europe impact the president's decision-making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all."

Denmark's foreign minister on Thursday ruled out any US acquisition of Greenland, after the White House said a European military mission to the Arctic island had no effect on Donald Trump's territorial ambitions. Lars Lokke Rasmussen said, "This is out of the question. It's not what we want in Denmark, nor in Greenland and it runs counter to all international rules. It infringes on sovereignty."

Greenland's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said on Tuesday that "if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU."