NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is shown with president Trump in Davos, Switzerland , Jan 21, 2026
DAVOS, Switzerland — President Trump announced on Wednesday that he will not follow through on his threat to impose tariffs on eight European allies on Feb. 1 over their opposition to his claim of Greenland.
Trump already dropped his threat to invade Greenland earlier Wednesday, and he’s now reversed his tariff threat — which had triggered a crisis in the transatlantic alliance and rattled global markets.
Trump told reporters that the deal “gives us everything we needed.” Asked whether Greenland would be part of the U.S., he said, “It is the ultimate long-term deal. It is an infinite deal.”
He claimed to have found a “solution” to the Greenland crisis during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
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.
- “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 wrote.
- Denmark’s foreign minister welcomed the “positive” news and said he hoped for talks to address Trump’s concerns about Greenland.
- “What is important for us is that we end this in a way that respects the Greenlandic people,” he said.
- Markets, which were unnerved by the tariff threat, went into a full relief rally on the news. The S&P 500 was up nearly 1.5% and long-term bond yields fell.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters: “I told you everyone should keep cool until the president got here.”
- Trump has repeatedly stated — including earlier on Wednesday — that he would not accept any solution that did not give full control of Greenland to the United States.
- After Trump’s speech, Denmark welcomed his statement that he would not take Greenland by force, but reiterated that it would not negotiate over the question of sovereignty.
- It’s unclear how substantive the framework Trump and Rutte discussed is, or whether it would fulfill Trump’s criteria that the U.S. own Greenland in perpetuity.
- Asked by CNBC’s Joe Kernen whether the deal involved ownership, Trump said it was “a little bit complex.”
- AXIOS
