Trump says ‘framework’ ready for US deal over Greenland, no tariffs on European allies now

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (Jan 21) that he has reached a framework for a deal over Greenland after a meeting with the NATO chief Mark Rutte, and that he would therefore waive tariffs scheduled to hit European allies.

"We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region," Trump said in a post on Truth Social that provided no details on the framework, adding: "Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st."

This came as the Greenlandic government of the Arctic island released guidelines for the people in the event of a "crisis". The mentioned guidelines include stockpiling food and water, as well as hunting weapons and ammunition, AFP reported. Greenland's self-sufficiency minister, Peter Borg, described the document as "an insurance policy" while speaking at a press conference in the capital, Nuuk. "We don't expect to have to use it," Borg said.

‘I won’t use force, we don’t need it for rare earths’

Trump, during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday (Jan 21), said that he is not planning to use force to take over Greenland. His statement came after the Danish Prime Minister hinted at a possible invasion of the island nation. The American president said that he has immense respect for Greenland and Denmark, but “it’s hard to call Greenland a land, it’s a pice of ice.” Moreover, the American president said that the US saved Greenland and gave it back to Denmark after World War 2 and now Denmark is being “ungrateful”.

“We don’t need Greenland for rare earths, we need it for national and international security,” Trump said. He also said, “We are trying to buy Greenland for two centuries...it’s a part of North America. All we want from Denmark is this land where we will build the golden Dome.”