Donald Trump drops Europe tariff threat, says he has formed a ‘framework of a future deal’ on Greenland

US President Donald Trump says he won’t be imposing tariffs on several European nations after he “formed the framework of a future deal” on Greenland and the Arctic region with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

“This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“Based on 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.”

Mr Trump said that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, will be responsible for the negotiations and report directly to him.

Earlier on Wednesday (local time), the US President ruled out the use of force in his bid to control Greenland, but said in a speech in Davos that no other country can secure the Danish territory.

“People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force,” Mr Trump said at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Switzerland.

“I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”

Mr Trump took a hectoring tone, chastising the United States’ European allies for their insolence, disloyalty and policy missteps in areas ranging from wind power and the environment to immigration and geopolitics.

Mr Trump’s increasing threats to Europe over Greenland have frayed transatlantic ties and worried Europeans, overshadowing a speech that was intended to focus primarily on the US economy.

He began his speech by saying Europe was headed in the wrong direction.

“I love Europe and I want to see Europe go good, but it’s not heading in the right direction,” Mr Trump said.

Calling Denmark “ungrateful,” the Republican US President played down the issue as a “small ask” over a “piece of ice” and that an acquisition would be no threat to the NATO alliance, which includes Denmark and the United States.

“No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States,” Mr Trump said, adding: “I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again to discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.”

On several occasions during a speech which lasted more than an hour, Mr Trump mistakenly referred to Greenland as Iceland.

Mr Trump, who marked the end of a turbulent first year in office on Tuesday, is set to overshadow the agenda of the WEF, where global elites chew over economic and political trends.

NATO leaders have warned that Mr Trump’s Greenland strategy could upend the alliance, while the leaders of Denmark and Greenland have offered a wide array of ways for a greater US presence on the strategic island territory of 57,000 people.

“We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it,” Mr Trump said in his speech to a packed congress hall.

Hundreds of delegates gathered in the lobby to listen or watch Mr Trump’s speech on video monitors or on mobile phones. After an hour, most of them had tuned out and resumed chatting.