Donald Trump’s push for Greenland to be subsumed into US territory is built on a “pot of gold myth” according to political and economic analysts.
The president has made it clear he wants Greenland for reasons of national security, but also outlined the raw mineral benefits of taking the country. While Trump has since ruled out military action in a recent speech in Davos, an analyst believes the president could be pushing to take over the country for its material wealth.
This, according to Jacob Funk Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, is a misstep. Speaking to CNN, the nonresident senior fellow said, “If there was a ‘pot of gold’ waiting at the end of the rainbow in Greenland, private businesses would have gone there already.
“If given enough taxpayer dollars, private business would be willing to do almost anything. But is that a good foundation on which to purchase a territory? The answer is no in Greenland, just as it’s no in Venezuela.”
Further analysis by CNN’s Matt Egan suggested getting businesses to “take a chance on Greenland may be a fantasy”. Egan has since outlined what Trump could do to coax businesses into investing, but success is not guaranteed.
He wrote, “It’s possible Trump tries to provide financial incentives and guarantees to entice US companies to make those massive investments, similar to the guarantees that Big Oil is seeking to drill aggressively in Venezuela.”
Even if a deal can be struck between the US and Greenland for purposes of national security and raw material extraction, one expert believes the relationship between the two countries has irreversibly soured.
Christian Keldsen, managing director of the Greenland Business Association, said, “At the moment, everything American is a red flag. Everyone is wondering, ‘Am I supporting someone taking over my country?’”
Trump has since suggested there is a framework deal in place for Greenland, with “small pockets of land” reportedly held for US control.
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