US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened “very high” tariffs on Denmark if it resists his bid to take control of Greenland, an independent Danish territory.
Asked at a press conference on Tuesday whether he would use military or economic power to control the most important island, he said: “No, I can’t guarantee both.”
“I can say this, we need them for economic security,” he said.
Trump also said he would use “economic force” against Canada and called the US-Canada border an “arbitrarily drawn line”.
He said this when his son, Donald Trump Jr, visited Greenland.
Before arriving in the capital Nuuk, Trump Jr said he would take a “personal tour” to talk to people, and had no scheduled meetings with government officials.
When asked about Trump Jr’s visit to Greenland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish TV that “Greenland belongs to Greenlanders” and that only local people can decide their future.
He admitted that “Greenland is not for sale”, but stressed that Denmark needs a much closer cooperation with the US, a Nato ally.
Greenland lies on the shortest route from North America to Europe and is home to America’s largest space station. It also has the world’s largest deposits of rare earth minerals, which are important for the manufacture of batteries and high-tech equipment.
ReutersSince winning re-election Trump has repeatedly returned to the idea of US territorial expansion – including restoring the Panama Canal.
During the press conference, Trump said that the canal is “important to our country” and that it is “used by China”. He previously accused Panama of overcharging American ships to use the waterway, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino dismissed Trump’s claims and said there was “no Chinese interference at all” in the canal.
A Hong Kong-based company, CK Hutchison Holdings, owns two ports at the entrance to the canal. The canal was built in the early 1900s and the US retained control of the canal area until 1977, when treaties gradually returned the land to Panama.
“Giving the Panama Canal to Panama was a huge mistake,” Trump said.
It is not clear how serious the president-elect is about adding to the US territory, especially when it comes to Canada, a country of 41 million people and the second largest country in the world.
During the press conference, Trump said that the US spends billions of dollars protecting Canada, and criticized the importation of Canadian cars, lumber and dairy products.
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