Greenland deal with NATO established

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(by By Kevin Breuninger, CNBC) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland.”

Trump said that as a result of that negotiation, he would no longer impose punitive tariffs on a slew of European countries that were set to begin Feb. 1.

In an interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen minutes after posting the statement, Trump described the Greenland framework as the “concept of a deal.”

Asked for more details about the proposal, Trump said, “It’s a little bit complex, but we’ll explain it down the line.”

But he suggested that the framework involves mineral rights for the U.S., as well as the Trump administration’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system.

“They’re going to be involved in the Golden Dome, and they’re going to be involved in mineral rights, and so are we,” Trump told Kernen.

Asked to confirm that the tariffs were no longer coming next month, Trump said, “No, we took that off because it looks like we have, pretty much the concept of a deal.”

Read Trump’s entire announcement, which he posted on Truth Social:

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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

…Despite its lack of [details, Wednesday’s] announcement marks a stunning twist in the ongoing controversy over Trump’s [unwavering] efforts to acquire Greenland for the U.S.

The Trump administration in recent weeks has floated buying the island or even utilizing the U.S. military to take control of it, even though it is a territory of Denmark, a NATO ally.

Danish and Greenlandic officials have rebuffed the U.S., reiterating that Greenland is not for sale. As tensions ratcheted up, a slew of European NATO nations increased their military presences in the territory.

Over the weekend, Trump responded by threatening to hit those countries with new tariffs starting at 10% next month and increasing to 25% in June.

Earlier Wednesday, during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump laid out his case for the U.S. to obtain Greenland on national-security grounds.

His remarks, including his call for “immediate negotiations” with Denmark, unnerved some in the audience.

But Trump also said he would not use military force in pursuit of the territory, in an apparent shift from his prior stance.

… Later Wednesday, Trump — who recently said that anything less than full ownership of Greenland was “unacceptable” to him — declined to say if the new framework involved the U.S. acquiring the island.

“It’s a long-term deal,” Trump told CNN after a pause. “It’s the ultimate long-term deal. And I think it puts everybody in a really good position.”

Published at CNBC on Jan. 20, 2026. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission.

Watch President Trump’s Jan. 21st address to the World Economic Forum.

Questions

NOTE TO STUDENTS: Before answering the questions, read the “Background” and watch the videos under “Resources.”

1. How did President Trump explain the necessity of the U.S. to be able to control Greenland?

2. Following his speech to world leaders at Davos in which he called for immediate negotiations on Greenland, the president said he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have “formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland.” How did Trump explain the lack of details on the framework?

3. What two components will be included in the deal, according to President Trump?

4. Who will benefit from a deal with respect to Greenland, according to President Trump?

5. A poster on X noted:
Greenland has been opened to Chinese strategic influence since 2008, and aggressively since 2015, across mining, airports, infrastructure, 5G and telecom, research, and even satellite projects, although some were later blocked.

At the same time, Russia has massively expanded and modernized its military footprint across the Arctic.

It shows how vulnerable Greenland is to foreign strategic capture.

Put this together, and pretending Greenland is just a quiet Danish territory is fantasy. From a U.S. national security standpoint, it is reckless and dangerous to leave Greenland outside American control, and it must immediately be secured by the United States.

Denmark’s population is around 6 million people and Greenland’s population just 56,000. What do you think? Is Denmark able to protect Greenland from China and Russia? Explain your answer.

Background

The “Golden Dome for America”

The Golden Dome is a proposed next-generation missile defense shield aimed at protecting the United States from incoming missile threats, including ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles. It’s a layered system that will use a combination of sensors, interceptors, and command and control technologies to detect, track, and defeat threats. The system will likely include space-based sensors and interceptors to provide comprehensive protection.
Initially called “Iron Dome for America,” it was renamed to avoid confusion with Israel’s Iron Dome (which stops short-range rockets). Unlike Israel’s system, Golden Dome aims to protect the entire U.S. from advanced, long-range threats.
Israel’s Iron Dome covers a small area with a 90% success rate against rockets. Golden Dome is far more ambitious, needing hundreds of satellites and ground systems to counter hypersonic and nuclear threats across a continent. It’s a massive leap in scale and complexity.
The U.S. Space Force is expected to play a key role in the development and deployment of the Golden Dome, given its reliance on space technologies.

Read a May 2025 article: “U.S. to Build Space-Based Missile Shield: Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ Explained”

NATO:

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance of 32 countries from North America and Europe committed to fulfilling the goals of the North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4, 1949.
NATO was established to counter the risk that the Soviet Union would seek to extend its then-control of Eastern Europe to other parts of the continent.
Twelve countries were part of the founding of NATO: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. NATO grew by including Greece and Turkey in 1952 and West Germany in 1955, and then later Spain in 1982.
In accordance with the Treaty, the fundamental role of NATO is to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries by political and military means. (from nato.int)
NATO’s role as a political and military alliance was to provide for collective defense against any form of aggression and to maintain a secure environment for the development of democracy and economic growth.

Resources

From President Trump’s Jan. 21, 2026 speech at Davos:
“Greenland is a vast, almost entirely uninhabited and undeveloped territory. It is sitting undefended in a key strategic location between the United States, Russia, and China. …