US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he had reached a “framework” for a deal over Greenland, stepping back from earlier threats to impose tariffs on European allies and to use force to take control
of the Arctic island from Denmark.
Trump announced the development after meeting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, though he offered few details on what the proposed framework would involve.
“We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st,” he added.
The threatened tariffs were set to hit Denmark and several close US allies, including Britain, France and Germany, all of which had sent troops to Greenland following Trump’s earlier remarks.
Speaking later to reporters in Davos, Trump said the agreement would be in place “forever” and insisted it delivered fully on US interests.
“It’s the ultimate long-term deal,” he said. “I think it puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security and minerals and everything else.”
Asked whether the United States would gain sovereignty over Greenland, Trump avoided a direct answer.
“It’s a deal that people jumped at, really fantastic for the USA, gets everything we wanted,” he said.
Trump briefly spoke with reporters in Davos after announcing that a framework for a deal on Greenland had been formed. He says that the deal "gets us everything we needed to get." pic.twitter.com/nPJ7yIgOuI
— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) January 21, 2026
In a separate interview with CNBC, Trump described the arrangement as a “concept of a deal”, calling it “a little bit complex” and saying details would be explained later.
“It’s the kind of deal that I wanted to be able to make,” he said, adding that discussions involved NATO and other partners.
Earlier in the day, Trump ruled out the use of force to take Greenland, even as he renewed calls for 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 said during his speech at the forum.
“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,” he added.
