Agreement with Nato Trump completes U-turn on punitive tariffs - these are the most important points

US President Trump wants to incorporate Greenland into the United States. He leaves no doubt about this in Davos. Then comes a surprising turn of events.

DPA

22.01.2026, 05:26

22.01.2026, 08:26

dpa

First Donald Trump gives a speech full of hostility towards Europe - then suddenly there seems to be a rapprochement in the Greenland conflict. At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos GR on Wednesday evening, the events surrounding Trump's proposal to incorporate Greenland into the USA came thick and fast. Here are the most important questions:

The US President does not want to carry out his tariff threat against several European countries of 10% on goods imported into the USA on February 1 after all. The reason: there was a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. What exactly was discussed shortly afterwards is rather unclear. Trump merely announced on social media that a framework had been created for a future agreement on Greenland and the entire Arctic region - which is why no additional tariffs are to be imposed after all. Rutte confirmed Trump's statements on a framework for a possible Greenland agreement.

Just a few hours earlier, the EU Parliament had stopped the ratification of the trade deal with the USA in response to Trump's tariff threat.

It was less than a week ago that the US President had imposed the tariffs in an unprecedented move with reference to the Greenland conflict - the intention was to punish eight NATO countries that had expressed opposition to Trump's claims to ownership of the Arctic island. After the initial 10 percent, the tariffs were to rise to 25 percent on June 1 - on all goods sent to the USA. Currently, most EU exports to America have been subject to a 15 percent tariff since the summer.

Rutte still sees a lot of work ahead of the parties involved in the political dispute over Greenland. In talks with Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, it was agreed that the Arctic region must be protected together, the Dutchman told US broadcaster Fox News. However, the USA would of course also continue its talks with Greenland and Denmark, for example when it came to preventing Russia and China from gaining access to Greenland's economy.

He considers this to be a "very good result", said Rutte, adding: "There is still a lot to do." They had agreed to work on the question of what NATO could do together to protect the entire Arctic region. There is a lot to do to ensure that everything necessary is done on land, at sea and in the air to protect this important part of the world and NATO territory.

Trump initially left specific details of what the framework for a future agreement should look like open. When asked whether it was about a deal on the ownership of Greenland, Trump only told the US broadcaster CNBC that it was "somewhat complex". However, he emphasized that the agreement would be "forever". Among other things, security issues were at stake.

"The day ends better than it began," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told Danish radio. "I take two things away from Davos: That Trump says he will not attack Greenland (...) and that the tariff war is on standby. That is positive."

Information from informed circles in Davos indicated that the agreement between Trump and Rutte does not appear to be about ownership of the entire island. According to this, a defense agreement for Greenland concluded between the USA and Denmark in 1951 is to be reworked. It is also said to be about investment control - the Americans want to have a say in who invests in Greenland and mines raw materials, for example. According to reports, the agreement will also include a stronger commitment by the European NATO states in the Arctic region.

The New York Times reported, citing government officials, that part of the discussion in NATO about a possible compromise is that Denmark could transfer sovereignty over small areas of Greenland to the United States, on which the US could then build military bases. However, the report also made it clear that much still seems to be in flux.

The "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (F.A.Z.) reported on Wednesday evening, citing NATO circles, that Rutte had introduced a proposal into the talks which, in addition to the establishment of a new Alliance surveillance mission in the far north, also envisages the USA taking over military bases in Greenland.

The F.A.Z. had already reported exclusively on Tuesday about corresponding considerations. Now the newspaper claims to have learned from two NATO sources that the plan is based on the model of British military bases on Cyprus.

Rutte did not give a definitive answer to the question of whether the framework for a possible Greenland agreement, which Trump had previously announced, envisaged that the largely autonomous Arctic island would remain part of Denmark's territory. He said that the topic had not come up again in his talks on Wednesday evening. The focus was therefore on the protection of Greenland.

Trump's Greenland claims and the associated threats have put the Europeans in a difficult position: they cannot simply risk a break with Trump, as their countries are militarily dependent on the United States. Or as Trump puts it: Nato would be nothing without him.

It is becoming increasingly clear why Trump might have Greenland in his sights: He is planning to build the largest "Golden Dome" ever on the island. This would be a defense system similar to the one used by Israel. The shield is intended to defend North America. The agreement with Rutte could now give Trump the opportunity to build this "dome" on Greenland. In his post on Wednesday evening, Trump announced that there would be further talks on the construction of the planned missile defense system.

The Trump administration has been claiming control over the so-called hemisphere with the double continent of America and the surrounding islands for some time now. Many examples show this: The renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America", attacks on allegedly drug-laden ships in the Caribbean and the East Pacific, the overthrow of the authoritarian Venezuelan head of state Nicolás Maduro - and now the claim to ownership of Greenland.

Trump has tasked his Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Representative Steve Witkoff with further negotiations on an agreement on Greenland.