Donald Trump has made a heel turn on his previous threat to impose tariffs on his European allies following talk of a Greenland deal.
The US president, 79, had previously revealed his plan to put tariffs on 'on any and all goods' sent to America from 1 February, increasing them to 25 per cent from 1 June, until a deal was agreed to purchase Greenland.
Trump has maintained that he will take Greenland 'one way or the other', with a number of reasons given for why he seeks to secure it so strongly.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hit out at Trump's tariff decision, adding that the president was 'completely wrong' in his approach in an emergency press conference on Monday (19 January).
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But now, the tariff plan has been shelved following a meeting between Trump and Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte, which the president spoke about on his social media website, Truth Social.
Trump insisted that he has now 'formed the framework of a future deal' on Greenland, as he continued to say: "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!"
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Trump said that the US could 'make it impossible for the bad guys to do anything against the perceived good ones'.
On why he wants Greenland so bad, the Republican leader said it was for 'national security' purposes.
He said: “It’s a big piece of ice, and it’s very important… that we use it for national security. That can create a power that will make it impossible for the bad guys to do anything against the perceived good ones."
He added that 'we’ll see what happens', as he again claimed Nato had treated the US 'very unfairly'. However, Trump also warned his Nato allies that they would face potential consequences if they didn't give in to his demands.
He said: “We want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won’t give it. We’ve never asked for anything else, and we could have kept that piece of land, and we didn’t.
“So they have a choice: you can say yes, and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no, and we will remember.
“I mean, we’ve helped them for so many years. We’ve never gotten anything except we pay for Nato… and all we’re asking for is to get Greenland.”
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, Greenland
Anish Vij