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US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he has reached a framework agreement regarding Greenland, halting threatened tariffs against Denmark and other European nations just days before they were set to take effect.
Trump made the announcement following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, though he provided few details about the agreement's terms or whether it grants the United States control over the Arctic territory.
"We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st."
The tariffs would have targeted Denmark along with Britain, France and Germany, countries that had deployed troops to Greenland in response to Trump's earlier threats to take the island.
Speaking to reporters in Davos, Trump described the arrangement as lasting "forever" but hesitated when asked whether the United States would gain sovereignty over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory with roughly 57,000 residents spread across the world's largest island.
"It's the ultimate long-term deal, and I think it puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security, and minerals and everything else," Trump said. He characterized it as "a deal that people jumped at, really fantastic for the USA, gets everything we wanted."
In a separate interview with CNBC, Trump called the arrangement "a concept of a deal" and acknowledged its complexity. "It's a little bit complex, but we'll explain it down the line, but the secretary general of NATO and I and some other people were talking and it's the kind of a deal that I wanted to be able to make," he said.
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Trump's pursuit of Greenland has unsettled international relations and financial markets in recent weeks. In his speech at the World Economic Forum earlier Wednesday, he ruled out using military force for the first time while still demanding immediate negotiations with Denmark.
"We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable -- but I won't do that," Trump told the forum audience. "I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force. I won't use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland."
Greenland holds significant strategic value due to its location in the Arctic, mineral resources including rare earth elements, and existing US military presence at Thule Air Base. The island's position has grown increasingly important as climate change opens new shipping routes and access to resources in the Arctic region.
The framework agreement comes after weeks of escalating tensions between Washington and Copenhagen over Trump's demands for the territory, which Denmark has repeatedly stated is not for sale.
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