United States President Donald Trump has abruptly stepped back from threats to impose tariffs as leverage to seize Greenland.
Trump ruled out the use of force to acquire Greenland and said a deal was in sight to end a dispute over the Danish territory.
On a whirlwind trip to the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the president backed down from weeks of rhetoric that shook the NATO alliance and risked a new global trade war.
Instead, Trump said, Western Arctic allies could forge a new deal that satisfies his desire for a “Golden Dome” missile-defence system and access to critical minerals while blocking Russia and China’s ambitions in the Arctic.
“It’s a deal that everybody’s very happy with,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, after emerging from a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
He added: “It’s a long-term deal. It’s the ultimate long-term deal. It puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security and to minerals.
“It’s a deal that’s forever.”
A NATO spokesperson said seven NATO allies in the Arctic would work together to ensure their collective security.
Trump in Davos: US won’t use force to acquire Greenland
“Negotiations between Denmark, Greenland, and the United States will go forward aimed at ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold – economically or militarily – in Greenland,” the spokesperson told Reuters.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the US and NATO had “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” adding that “based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.”
Denmark said the issue should be handled through private diplomacy rather than on social media.
“What is crucial for us is that we get to end this with respect for the integrity and sovereignty of the kingdom (of Denmark) and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination,” Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said he had spoken with Rutte but declined to provide details on what had been agreed.
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