President Trump Cancels Threat of Tariffs Related to Greenland After Meeting with NATO Secretary-General

President Trump meets with NATO Secretary-General Rutte in Davos. (Twitter/@WhiteHouse)

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the threat of additional import tariffs that would previously have been imposed on several European countries related to Greenland would not apply, after a conversation with Secretary General of the Atlantic Defense Pact (NATO) Mark Rutte and progress towards an agreement on the Arctic.

President Trump, who was attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, earlier criticized the allies, but said military force would not be used to seize Greenland.

Then, he spoke with Secretary-General Rutte and praised the NATO chief for doing "a fantastic job".

"Based on the very productive meeting I had with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, we have established a framework for future agreements regarding Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic region," President Trump wrote on Truth Social, launching The National (22/1).

"This solution, if implemented, will be a good solution for the United States, and all NATO countries. Based on this understanding, I will not impose tariffs scheduled to take effect on February 1," he said.

This development comes shortly after President Trump delivered a speech in which he criticized Western countries that had sent their armed forces personnel to Greenland as a symbol of solidarity with fellow NATO member Denmark.

Western capitals have been on edge since Trump's renewed threat to seize Greenland from Denmark. Any military move on the vast Arctic island could mean the break-up of the 32-nation military alliance.

"We need it for strategic national security and international security, this unsafe big island is actually part of North America, on the northern border of the Western Hemisphere - it is our territory," President Trump said during his speech in Davos.

Last Saturday, President Trump said he would impose new tariffs on countries that had supported Denmark regarding its sovereignty in Greenland, until an agreement was reached so that America could acquire the mineral-rich island.

The crisis triggered a sell-off in the stock market on Tuesday, wiping billions of dollars off the value of American companies.

"It's a little complicated," President Trump later told CNBC about the deal, adding that details would be revealed "later."

The US president denied he was motivated by rare earth metal deposits in Greenland, saying it was too difficult to penetrate "hundreds of feet of ice".

Instead, the Republican politician insisted that the region was at risk from the ambitions of China and Russia.

The planned US Golden Dome defense system, Trump said, would protect Greenland from advanced threats such as hypersonic missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles from Russia and China.