Since being elected the next president of the United States, Donald Trump has signaled that he may try to revisit expansionist policies, including an interest in seizing control over the Panama Canal, absorbing Canada, and claiming Greenland. During a recent press conference, Trump stated he “could not assure” that he would refrain from using economic or military force to assert control over the Arctic island, currently administered as Danish “overseas territory,” prompting perplexed reactions from Greenland, Denmark, and the European Union.
Read more: Trump threatens that Panama Canal could be “returned” to the US
Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede and Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen dismissed Trump’s remarks, echoing responses to his 2019 proposal to buy the island. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders, the premiers reiterated, emphasizing the territory’s ongoing path to self-determination.
Local officials’ reassurances aside, the United States already maintains a physical presence on Greenland through the Pituffik Space Base, previously known as Thule Air Base, which hosts ballistic missile warning systems. While a US military invasion of Greenland is unlikely, some European officials have acknowledged that the situation is not entirely benign. Reactions from the French foreign ministry have suggested that similar assertions from the incoming US president will call for a far more decisive response from European heads of state.
Western powers’ race for Greenland’s resources
Greenland has long been of interest to Western powers due to its strategic location for transport and logistics, significance in confrontations with China and Russia, and vast resources, including copper, zinc, uranium, and fossil fuels. As climate change dramatically accelerated the melting of Greenland’s ice cover, the potential for extraction has become technologically more viable than previously expected—despite local skepticism due to anticipated environmental harm.
Seizing control over these reserves would come at great economic benefit, and US administrations are not the only ones to be aware of that. The EU has already taken steps to tap into Greenland’s resources, signing a memorandum in 2023 to “develop sustainable raw materials value chains.” According to the European Commission at the time, 25 of the 34 strategically important materials for the EU can be found in Greenland, making it a critical addition to the union’s so-called Green Deal. Similar agreements have been signed with Ukraine, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Argentina, and, most recently, Serbia. Despite official claims of fostering “mutual benefit,” these agreements should be seen as Europe’s instruments to continue its exploitation of the Global South.
In this context, Trump’s expansionist rhetoric comes as a warning that more confrontations are to be expected over Arctic dominance, leaving movements in Greenland to build up resistance to imperialist interference.
