President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland.”
Trump said that as a result of that negotiation, he would no longer impose punitive tariffs on a slew of European countries that were set to begin Feb. 1.
In an interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen minutes after posting the statement, Trump described the Greenland framework as the “concept of a deal.”
Asked for more details about the proposal, Trump said, “It’s a little bit complex, but we’ll explain it down the line.”
But he suggested that the framework involves mineral rights for the U.S., as well as the Trump administration’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system.
“They’re going to be involved in the Golden Dome, and they’re going to be involved in mineral rights, and so are we,” Trump told Kernen.
Asked to confirm that the tariffs were no longer coming next month, Trump said, “No, we took that off because it looks like we have, pretty much the concept of a deal.”
Read Trump’s entire announcement, which he posted on Truth Social:
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. 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. Further information will be made available as discussions progress. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations — They will report directly to me. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Stocks shot up immediately after Trump posted the update.
The announcement came after a meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in which some NATO members discussed a proposal to give the U.S. sovereignty over small pockets of Greenland’s land, The New York Times reported, citing three senior officials familiar with the discussion.
Other details about the framework agreement were unclear. Asked for additional information, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly echoed Trump’s assurance that more details will “continue to be unveiled as discussions continue.”
Despite its lack of clarity, the announcement marks a stunning twist in the ongoing controversy over Trump’s persistent efforts to acquire Greenland for the U.S.
The Trump administration in recent weeks has floated buying the island or even utilizing the U.S. military to take control of it, even though it is a territory of Denmark, a NATO ally.
Danish and Greenlandic officials have rebuffed the U.S., reiterating that Greenland is not for sale. As tensions ratcheted up, a slew of European NATO nations increased their military presences in the territory.
Over the weekend, Trump responded by threatening to hit those countries with new tariffs starting at 10% next month and increasing to 25% in June.
During a speech at Davos earlier Wednesday, Trump laid out his case for the U.S. to obtain Greenland on national-security grounds.
His remarks, including his call for “immediate negotiations” with Denmark, unnerved some in the audience.
But Trump also said he would not use military force in pursuit of the territory, in an apparent shift from his prior stance.
Stocks, which had plummeted a day earlier amid Trump’s increasing aggression toward Greenland, immediately rebounded.
Later Wednesday, Trump — who recently said that anything less than full ownership of Greenland was “unacceptable” to him — declined to say if the new framework involved the U.S. acquiring the island.
“It’s a long-term deal,” Trump told CNN after a pause. “It’s the ultimate long-term deal. And I think it puts everybody in a really good position.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in an X post, “The day is ending on a better note than it began.”
He urged parties to “sit down and find out how we can address the American security concerns in the Arctic while respecting the red lines” laid down by Denmark.
Some European leaders cautioned against celebrating prematurely, however.
“It’s good that they are engaged in dialogue,” Germany’s Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told his country’s ZDF television after Trump’s meeting with Rutte.
“But we have to wait a bit and not get our hopes up too soon,” Klingbeil said.
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