Greenland, Trump tariffs loom over Davos forum

Davos, Jan. 21: The annual meeting of The World Economic Forum attracts corporate executives, academics, philanthropists and media to the Swiss Alps town of Davos for dialogue, debate and deal-making.

The Geneva-based think tank first hosted the event in 1971 with the goal to improve European management. Beginning Tuesday, 850 CEOs and chairs of the world's top companies are expected to be among 3,000 participants from 130 countries in the Alpine resort through Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump's third visit to Davos as president comes as U.S. allies worry about his ambition to take over Greenland, Latin America grapples with his efforts to reap Venezuela's oil and business leaders and lawmakers at home express concerns about his hardball tactics toward Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Trump's "Board of Peace," initially seen as a mechanism focused on ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, is sure to be widely discussed along the sidelines at Davos.

But recent invitations sent to dozens of world leaders show that the body could have a far broader mandate of other global crises, potentially rivaling the United Nations' Security Council.

Trump says the body would "embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict," an indication that the body may not confine their work to Gaza.

The panel was part of Trump's 20-point ceasefire plan that stopped the war in Gaza in October. Many countries, including Russia, said they received Trump's invitation and were studying the proposal. France said it does not plan to join the Board of Peace "at this stage."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed Europe's response to Trump on Tuesday. Newsom told Europeans to stand up to Trump for the U.S. president's tariff threats over support of Greenland while speaking on the sidelines of the economic forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The crisis over Greenland's sovereignty is sure to loom large over Davos. Currently, European leaders are mulling their next steps after Trump doubled down on threats to take over the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

Trump Tuesday posted some provocatively doctored images on social media. One showed him planting the U.S. flag next to a sign reading "Greenland, U.S. Territory, Est. 2026."

The other showed Trump in the Oval Office next to a map that showed Greenland and Canada covered with the U.S. Stars and Stripes. An official close to Emmanuel Macron said a private message shared by Trump "shows that the French President, both in public and in private, takes the same views."

On Greenland, France considers respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states is "non-negotiable," said the official, who spoke anonymously in line with the customary practices of the French presidency.

Concerning Macron's offering to organize a meeting of members of the Group of Seven most advanced economies in Paris on Thursday, the French presidency wants to make "a constructive moment that contributes to dialogue and cooperation," the official added without further comments about Macron's suggestion he could invite Russia.

An official close to French President Emmanuel Macron said tariffs threats are "unacceptable and inefficient" after Trump threatened 200% tariffs on French wine and Champagne over Paris declining his invitation to join the Board of Peace.

"Tariffs threats to influence our foreign policies are unacceptable and inefficient," said the official, who spoke anonymously in line with the customary practices of the French presidency.

European markets opened sharply lower on Tuesday and U.S. futures fell further as tensions rose over Greenland. Benchmarks in Germany, France and Britain fell about 1%. The future for the S&P 500 lost 1.5% and the Dow future was down 1.4%. (AP)