Trump threatens tariffs against countries that oppose him on Greenland

By Elías Thorsson January 16, 2026
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U.S. President Donald Trump talks about reducing medicine prices, as he participates in a roundtable on rural health, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on countries that refuse to back U.S. ambitions toward Greenland, another escalation in a fast evolving diplomatic crisis over the future of the Arctic country, the Associated Press reports. Trump was participating in a rural health roundtable, when seemingly out of the blue he briefly switched topics to Greenland.

“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland,” he said Friday, without providing any further details. “We need Greenland for national security.”

Trump has repeatedly said the United States needs Greenland for national security reasons and earlier this week Danish and Greenlandic officials held a high-stake meeting in Washington to discuss the issue with Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ttrump’s comments were made at a time when a bipartisan delegation of U.S. Senators is in Copenhagen to reassure Danish and Greenlandic officials that they’ll prevent Trump from moving against the Arctic nation.

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