Donald Trump backs down on tariff threat after 'securing beginnings' of a Greenland deal

Donald Trump has confirmed he will not impose tariffs on key NATO allies, after the tentative beginnings of a Greenland deal were secured on Wednesday.

The US President shared the news following his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, just hours after he had doubled down on his demands to claim ownership of the autonomous Danish territory.

While Trump has officially wanted the US to own the Arctic nation outright, something he said was ‘vital’ for US and global security, his demands may have been tempered into accepting a different arrangement after conversations with NATO.

During his speech, Trump had stood by his original aim as he told audiences: “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.

“That’s probably the biggest statement, because people thought I would use force. 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.”

Trump had originally been adamant about the US taking ownership of Greenland (Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images)

He had also previously threatened to impose tariffs, some as high as 25%, on nations that opposed his bid to take over Greenland.

However, just hours after this speech had taken place, the President appeared to have a change of heart, as he took to Truth Social to reveal that the beginning of a deal had been struck with NATO.

He wrote: “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.”

Trump later appeared to have softened his stance when he spoke of a potential deal with NATO (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

While no further details have been given about what the proposed deal may look like, three senior officials have suggested to the New York Times that it may involve surrendering pockets of land to the US where it could build military bases, in a similar deal to one currently held by the UK and Cyprus.

It is understood, however, that the core aim of the negotiations is to protect Greenland from Russian and Chinese influence.

A spokesperson for NATO said of the proposed deal: “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.”

Trump did imply however that the U.S. would not own Greenland outright when directly asked about ownership at the World Economic Summit.