Trump Says ‘You’ll Find Out’ On How Far He’s Willing To Go For Greenland — Stock Market Slumps On Remarks

U.S. President Donald Trump said a White House press conference on Tuesday that he doubts the tariffs on EU countries related to Greenland would trigger them to pull back on previous investment pledges.

• Trump added that there would be many meetings scheduled on Greenland during his visit to Davos, Switzerland.
• Last week, Trump announced a 10% tariff on Denmark and its EU allies from Feb. 1, and said it would be ramped up to 25% from June 1 unless a deal for the U.S. to buy Greenland was finalized. 
• Amid Trump’s remarks, U.S. equities declined on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his stance on acquiring control over Greenland at a White House press conference on Tuesday. When asked how far he is willing to go to stake claims on the island, “You’ll find out,” he said.

Trump added that he doubts the tariffs on European Union countries related to his interest in Greenland would trigger them to pull back on previous investment pledges.

“They need that agreement very badly with us. They really do, they fought very hard to get it. So I doubt that,” he said, in response to a question.

Last week, Trump slapped a 10% tariff on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland from Feb. 1, stating it would be ramped up to 25% from June 1 unless a deal for the U.S. to buy Greenland was finalized.

Greenland Push

Trump has said that the U.S. needs Greenland for national interests, adding that a non-intervention from the country would make it vulnerable to a takeover by Russia and China.

“World Peace is at stake! China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it,” said Trump.

He added that there would be many meetings scheduled on Greenland during his visit to Davos, Switzerland, adding that “things are going to work out pretty well, actually.”

On Monday, Trump said on Truth Social that he had spoken with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about Greenland and had agreed to multiple meetings in Davos even as Denmark and its European allies have mobilized troops in the island amid rising pressure from the U.S.

“I think that we will work something out where NATO is going to be very happy and where we’re going to be very happy,” Trump said on Tuesday. “But we need it for security purposes. We need it for national security and even world security. It’s very important.”

Market Slump

Amid Trump’s remarks, U.S. equities declined on Tuesday. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, closed down 2.04% while the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) ended the day 2.12% lower. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) closed 1.73% lower.

Meanwhile, retail sentiment on SPY was in the ‘bearish’ territory and on QQQ was in the ‘extremely bearish’ territory.

The iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) closed 0.4% lower and was down 0.03% at the time of writing.

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