Trump Says He Is Canceling Tariff Threat Over Greenland

President Trump announced Wednesday that he was canceling his planned tariff on US allies in Europe over US control of Greenland after he and the leader of NATO agreed to a "framework of a future deal" on Arctic security.

• "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," Trump said in a Truth Social post. "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."

The abrupt about-face emerged hours after Trump had insisted that he wants to "get Greenland, including right, title and ownership," but said he would not use force to do so while deriding European allies and vowing that NATO should not try to block US expansionism. In an extraordinary speech at the World Economic Forum, the president said he was asking for territory that was "cold and poorly located." He said the US had effectively saved Europe during World War II and even declared of NATO: "It's a very small ask compared to what we have given them for many, many decades."

In subsequent comments to reporters, he declined to name a price that might be paid, saying only, "There's a bigger price, and that's the price of safety and security and national security and international security." Afterward, Trump met with the leaders of Poland, Belgium, and Egypt and again repeated that the US would not be invading Greenland, the AP reports. The New York Times reports that stocks surged after Trump backed down from the tariff threat, erasing their steep losses from the previous day.