Trump's Interest In Greenland

US President Donald Trump addressed the World Economic Forum in the Swiss city of Davos during the last fortnight and articulated that he had reached a framework of a future deal with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on Greenland and the wider Arctic region. He described it as a long-term, strategic agreement that would benefit the U.S. and NATO allies. However, there is no formal, written treaty yet on the terms of the deal. According to a report, it is essentially a preliminary understanding to guide further talks among the stakeholders. 

Trump’s push reframes Greenland from a bilateral issue between the U.S and Denmark into a multilateral allied security priority involving NATO nations. As part of the deal framework, much to the relief of eight European NATO nations, Trump cancelled planned tariffs, which he was planning to impose in retaliation for their resistance to the US Greenland acquisition push. This tariff threat had been a major flashpoint undermining EU-U.S. trade cooperation and broader transatlantic relations. 

Defence rights 

However, as specifics are vague, the understanding reached between the US and NATO could formalise U.S. defence rights in Greenland, potentially beyond existing arrangements under the 1951 agreement with Denmark. Fred Kempe, Atlantic Council President, refers to the US President Donald Trump's approach to Europe as a kind of shock therapy.  After enduring several tough doses in the first year of Trump’s second term, for example, on Ukraine, tariffs, blatant remarks like Europe’s civilisation erasure, and then on Greenland, Europe’s position is shocked and shaken, says Kempe. 

Shock therapy, according to Kempe, refers to the rapid, disruptive, and painful transitions forced on Europe by Trumpian jolts to the traditional transatlantic security and trade partnership. But European leaders now recognise that, in the face of Trump’s United States, the continent must fundamentally treat its maladies or further surrender global relevance. What’s also changed for Europe is a growing recognition that it can no longer rely on the post–World War II global order, whose institutions and rules provided the safe context for the creation and growth of the European Union (EU). 

However, Trump’s dramatic climbdown in his speech at Davos from his ultimatum that Europe either give him Greenland or face tariffs had many sources, ranging from US market jitters over EU countermeasures, congressional opposition, to a lack of popular American support and disapproval from the majority of the US people. Most significant in Europe was that his approach and treatment of transatlantic allies triggered greater unity among the EU’s twenty-seven members against Trump. 

Why is Trump so bent on taking over Greenland even though it operates key facilities here in line with the agreement with Denmark?  According to Tim Marshall, the author of the famous work titled “Prisoners of Geography, “all the sovereignty issues stem from the same desires and fears – the desire to safeguard routes for military and commercial shipping, the desire to own the natural riches of the region, and fear that others, including Russia and China, may gain and you lose. 

Furthermore, Greenland holds many critical raw materials, namely graphite, copper, and nickel sought by the U.S.  Its geological endowment is significant and comparatively unexplored. Vast areas of the interior remain unexplored beneath ice that can exceed a mile in thickness. 

It possesses an impressive array of critical minerals, from traditional commodities such as copper, lead, and zinc that have been mined on a small scale in ice-free coastal areas to modern critical minerals essential for energy and defence technologies. Greenland is estimated to hold approximately 36 million tonnes of rare earths, though only 1.5 million tons are currently considered proven, economically viable reserves. 

Greenland is generally ranked around eighth globally in reserves, placing it among the most significant holders of undeveloped rare earth minerals; with further exploration and feasibility studies, it may be proven to contain the world’s second-largest reserves after China. According to the Atlantic Council reports, Greenland has one of the largest uranium deposits in the world. However, Greenland reinstated a ban on uranium mining in 2021 following sustained local opposition. This prohibition has had direct implications for projects where uranium is present alongside other minerals. 

Greenland holds known deposits of copper – essential for electrical infrastructure, graphite – key to battery production - gallium, tungsten, zinc, gold, silver, and iron ore. It also holds various specialty metals with high-tech and defence applications, including platinum, molybdenum, tantalum, and vanadium. While many of these resources are geologically promising, few have progressed beyond early exploration. Greenland’s mineral deposits are globally significant, particularly for rare earth elements. However, unlike established mining regions in Australia, Canada, or even emerging sources in Africa and South America, Greenland has minimal production infrastructure and no large-scale operating critical mineral mines. 

Infrastructure gap 

Outside of Greenland’s few small cities, roads and railroads simply do not exist. Transport depends almost entirely on ships and aircraft, greatly increasing costs and complexity. This infrastructure gap extends the typical decade-long timeline from discovery to production and dramatically increases capital requirements. While mining projects can spur infrastructure development, the initial infrastructure investment represents a significant barrier to entry as it is generally too cold to construct durable roads from concrete and asphalt. 

This poses a significant challenge to project economics. Transportation of minerals can sometimes be even more expensive than the mining process itself. However, Tim Marshall in his above-quoted book writes, "We have even broken the shackles of earth’s gravity. In our newly globalised world, we can use technology to give us all an opportunity in Arctic Greenland. We can overcome the rapacious side of our nature and get the great game right for the benefit of all.” 

(The author is presently associated with Policy Research Institute (PRI) as a senior research fellow.  rijalmukti@gmail.com)