U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed Denmark as “irrelevant” and said he was unconcerned about the prospect of Europe exiting the market for U.S. government bonds amid anxiety triggered by President Donald Trump’s statements on Greenland and threats of new tariffs. Speaking to reporters in Davos on Wednesday morning, he stressed: “Denmark’s investments in U.S. Treasuries—like Denmark itself—are irrelevant. They’ve been selling Treasuries for years. I couldn’t care less.”
Bessent was responding to speculation that European capitals could seek to pressure Washington by selling off U.S. bonds, thereby pushing up borrowing costs for the United States. A day earlier, one Danish pension fund, AkademikerPension, said it had decided to divest from U.S. Treasuries, citing Trump’s threats over Greenland as one of the factors suggesting that the United States no longer looks like a top-tier borrower.
The idea of potential divestment was raised in a weekend note to clients circulated by Deutsche Bank’s chief FX strategist George Saravelos. Bessent, however, said he had received a call from Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing, who made clear that Saravelos’s arguments did not reflect the bank’s position. “Of course, the fake media—led by the Financial Times—blew this up,” the secretary said.
On Tuesday, January 20, U.S. bond and equity markets fell sharply amid growing concerns that disagreements between the United States and Europe over Greenland could reignite the trade war feared in 2025 but that never ultimately materialized. According to Bessent, the selloff was exacerbated by volatility in Japan’s debt market, where doubts have resurfaced over the country’s long-term ability to service its debt. “It’s very hard to separate all this noise around Greenland,” he said, adding that his Japanese counterpart had assured him of Tokyo’s readiness to support stability in the bond market.
Earlier at the same press conference, Bessent reiterated his criticism of what he called “incendiary” statements by European leaders over the Greenland dispute and spoke sharply about plans by European countries to send troops there. “When these countries put their forces on alert, I’m not sure what signal they’re trying to send,” he said. “It looks rather quixotic.”
Bessent’s remarks came just hours before an anticipated appearance by Trump. The U.S. president’s arrival in Davos was delayed by about three hours because of technical problems with Air Force One.