President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the framework agreed to with NATO on Greenland includes access to mineral rights for the United States and its European allies and cooperation on the Golden Dome.
“They’re going to be involved in the Golden Dome, they’re going to be involved in the mineral rights, and so are we,” Trump told CNBC’s Joe Kernen in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
When asked how long the agreement would last, the president replied, “Forever.”
In a speech at the World Economic Forum earlier Wednesday, President Trump ruled out using force to acquire Greenland and called for immediate negotiations over the island’s status.
Shortly after, President Trump said he had reached a framework for an agreement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The president said on February 1 that he would not impose tariffs on Denmark or other European countries.
President Trump told CNBC that he had reached a “conceptual agreement” with NATO. He said the concept of an agreement is complex and declined to provide details.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Greenland ranks eighth in the world for rare earth reserves. President Trump has made developing rare earth supply chains a central goal of his administration’s industrial policy to reduce U.S. dependence on China.
Rare earths are used to make magnets, which are important raw materials in weapons systems, electric vehicles, electronics, and other critical industries.
President Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory from Denmark, has raised concerns that the NATO alliance could collapse.
