US President Donald Trump said that during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the sides “laid the groundwork for a future agreement concerning Greenland and, in effect, the entire Arctic region.”
“If implemented, this decision will be a major plus for the United States of America and all NATO countries. On that basis, I will not impose the tariffs that were set to take effect on February 1,” Trump wrote on January 21 on the social media platform Truth Social.
He said that additional consultations are continuing in parallel on the “Golden Dome” air defense system, which the United States intends to deploy in Greenland. Trump promised to disclose further details “as the negotiations progress.”
Earlier, the US president said he intended to impose 10 percent tariffs starting February 1 on all goods imported into the United States from European countries, including the United Kingdom. From June 1, the tariffs were expected to rise to 25 percent until an agreement on Greenland is reached.
Trump insists that Greenland should become part of the United States. Initially, he floated various ways of achieving this goal, including purchasing the island and the use of military force. However, speaking at the Davos forum on January 21, he said he was abandoning the military option. Danish authorities, of which Greenland is a part, have previously stressed that they do not intend to discuss the sale of the island with Washington.