U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Friday he might impose tariffs on countries that do not support the United States controlling Greenland. The statement came as a bipartisan Congressional delegation was in Copenhagen seeking to de-escalate tensions with Denmark over the issue.

Trump, during an unrelated White House event on rural health care, referenced previous threats of tariffs on European allies regarding pharmaceuticals, indicating a similar approach could be applied to Greenland. "I may do that for Greenland too," Trump said. "I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that." He had not previously publicly mentioned tariffs as a tool to acquire Greenland.

The U.S. has expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, for several months. Trump stated earlier this week that anything less than U.S. control of the Arctic island would be unacceptable. The proposition has been met with resistance from Danish officials, who maintain Greenland is not for sale.

Earlier in the week, Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington. While the meeting did not resolve the core disagreements, it did result in an agreement to establish a working group to further discuss areas of mutual interest. The specific purpose and scope of this working group remain undefined.

The potential imposition of tariffs would represent a significant escalation in the diplomatic dispute. The U.S. rationale for acquiring Greenland centers on national security concerns, citing the island's strategic location in the Arctic. Critics, however, view the proposal as an unwelcome intrusion into Danish sovereignty and a destabilizing force in the region. The situation remains fluid, with the future of U.S.-Danish relations and the fate of Greenland uncertain.