Trump threatens economic retaliation against Denmark in Greenland
US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose “very high” tariffs on Denmark if the country resists his efforts to gain control of Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.
Asked at a news conference on Tuesday whether he had ruled out using military or economic force to gain control of the strategically important island, he said: “No, I don’t can assure you of either of those things.”
“I can say this, we need them for economic security,” he said.
Trump also said he would use “economic power” against Canada and called the US-Canada border an “artificially drawn line”.
Trump’s comments came as his son, Donald Trump Jr, visited Greenland.
Before arriving in the capital Nuuk, Trump Jr. said he was on a “private day trip” to talk to people and had no plans to meet government officials.
When asked about Trump Jr.’s visit to Greenland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish television that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people” and only the local people can decide their future.
She agreed that “Greenland is not for sale” but emphasized that Denmark needs to cooperate very closely with the US, a NATO ally.
Greenland lies on the shortest route from North America to Europe and is home to a major US space facility. It also has the largest reserves of rare earth minerals, which are important in the production of batteries and high-tech equipment.
ReutersSince his re-election, Trump has repeatedly returned to the idea of expanding US territory – including taking back the Panama Canal.
During the press conference, Mr. Trump said that the canal was “very important to our country” and claimed “it is being operated by China.” He has previously accused Panama of charging US ships too much to use the waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino rejected Trump’s claim and said there was “absolutely no Chinese interference” in the canal.
A Hong Kong-based company, CK Hutchison Holdings, manages two ports at the entrance to the canal. The canal was built in the early 1900s and the United States maintained control of the canal area until 1977, when treaties gradually ceded land to Panama.
Mr. Trump said: “Giving the Panama Canal to Panama was a very big mistake.”
It’s unclear how serious the president-elect is about adding US territory, especially when it comes to Canada, which has 41 million people and is the second largest country in the world.
During the press conference, Mr. Trump said the US spends billions of dollars to protect Canada and criticized Canada’s imports of cars, lumber and dairy products.
