Amid heightened tensions over the president’s efforts to acquire Greenland, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that President Donald Trump is showing the world that “America is back.”
Asked about the president’s agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Trump is scheduled to speak Wednesday, Bessent said, “America is back. This is what American leadership looks like.”
Tensions have been high at the talks after President Trump has stepped up his desire to acquire autonomous Denmark, which would undermine the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance. Overnight, the prime minister announced a 200% tariff on French wine and champagne and said Britain was showing “utter weakness” by ceding sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Meanwhile, Denmark sent more troops to Greenland for military exercises.
Bessent said U.S. control of Greenland was “important,” adding: “It will prevent any kind of violent war, so why not get ahead of the problem before it starts?”
Bessent told CNBC that European countries should contribute their “fair share” to defense. “While Europeans were building schools and providing health care, we were protecting the world,” he said.
President Trump has repeatedly said that conquering Greenland is critical to U.S. national security, frequently citing concerns about Russia and China’s influence in the Arctic.
“The Formidable European Working Group”
Pharmaceutical companies’ “free rider”
U.S. drug prices are also on Bessent’s agenda, and he said European countries are “free riding” on drug prices.
In December, nine major pharmaceutical companies signed a deal to lower U.S. prices to bring them in line with prices overseas. “The idea here is to equalize over time, so U.S. consumers and health services pay less and Europeans have to pay more. They’re free riders.”
Bessent said he met last week with the G7, as well as Mexico, India, South Korea and Australia, to “avoid China’s stranglehold on mineral resources.” The minerals are used in a wide range of industries and products, from electric vehicles to defense, and by 2024, China controlled more than two-thirds of rare earth mine production.
—CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng and Sam Meredith contributed to this report.
