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Europe's ‘weakness’ prompting Trump to take Greenland's control: Bessent
Europe's ‘weakness’ prompting Trump to take control over Greenland, says top aide
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday amplified President Donald Trump's message over Greenland, saying that Europe's ‘weakness' necessitates United States' control over the island to avoid a ‘national emergency'.
Speaking at NBC's “Meet the Press” programme, Bessent defended Trump's tariffs on some European countries that have been opposing Trump's push to acquire Greenland, saying that the decision was taken to avoid a “hot war”.
When asked what was the national emergency that justified the 10% tariffs on eight European nations that oppose Trump's Greenland goals, the top White House official answered that “the national emergency is avoiding a national emergency.”
He called the tariff decision 'strategic.
“It is a strategic decision by the president. This is a geopolitical decision, and he is able to use the economic might of the US to avoid a hot war,” Bessent told NBC.
The Treasury Secretary's comments comes a day after Trump vowed to implement tariffs on European Union members opposed to a US acquisition of Greenland, including Denmark, which has long been one of Washington's staunchest allies.
Calling US the “strongest country in the world,” Bessent said that taking control of Greenland was crucial to win the geopolitical chess match against Russia and China.
“Europeans project weakness. US projects strength. The president believes enhanced security is not possible without Greenland being part of the US,” he said.
Europe will ‘come around', says Bessent
Laying out a rationale for Donald Trump's bid for Greenland, Scott Bessent said he had not in the recent days discussed with the President whether he is still keen on using emergency powers to justify using force to take Greenland.European leaders would ultimately “come around” to the idea of US control of Greenland, he added.
“I believe that the Europeans will understand that this is best for Greenland, best for Europe, and best for the United States,” he said.
Why did Trump impose tariffs on EU?
Scott Bessent all but dismissed European Union threats to halt a tariff deal that the bloc reached with the US last year, telling NBC News that the US president is using strategic leverage to get what he wants.“First of all, the trade deal hasn't been finalised, and an emergency action can be very different from another trade deal,” Bessent told NBC during the interview.
Trump “leverages his emergency powers to do this,” he said.
His comments came just ahead of Trump's foray to Davos, where the treasury secretary will also join him.
In his latest bid to wrest control of Greenland from Denmark — a NATO ally and EU member — Trump slapped a 10% tariff on goods from eight European countries starting from February 1 and raising to 25% in June. The move has prompted outrage from European countries, with French President Emmanuel Macron calling to activate the bloc's most powerful retaliation tool.
Source: LiveMint
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