Protesters attend a march to the US consulate during a demonstration, under the slogan ‘Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people’, in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 15, 2025.
Christian Klindt Soelbeck | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambitions around Greenland are rapidly gaining concrete form — that is, evolving from rhetoric into action.
Mining company Amaroq told CNBC the White House has been having discussions with the firm over investing in its mining projects in Greenland. If it’s a purely business transaction, that might not be unwelcome: Aaja Chemnitz, the member of parliament representing Greenland in the Danish Parliament, and chair of the Greenland Committee, told CNBC that the island is “open for business.”
Being open for business, however, does not mean welcoming a takeover bid. “It’s been quite clear from the beginning that Greenland is not for sale and never will be,” Chemnitz said.
But that could be on the agenda for U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s planned meeting with Danish authorities next week. While the meeting was initiated by Denmark’s foreign minister, Lokke Rasmussen, and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, Rubio will be looking to discuss how the U.S. can acquire the Arctic island.
In the very hypothetical scenario — let’s call it a thought experiment — that the U.S. buys Greenland, the island would be valued at nearly $2.8 trillion, according to a center-right U.S. think tank, though other parties put that figure lower.
Rubio will also have to navigate thorny issues, such as dealing with Greenlander’s desire for independence and Europe’s response. As for other global powers, while Russia is conspicuously quiet — probably because it is more interested in seeing any division in NATO over this affair — China is keenly watching developments, having described itself as a “near-Arctic state” in 2018. Any transaction — or operation — on this scale will have global repercussions.
What you need to know today
U.S. considering investing in mining projects in Greenland. Amaroq, which operates on the island, said the White House is talking to it about investment in its projects that extract or explore gold, gallium and other critical mineral deposits.
Trump administration races to come up with Greenland takeover plan. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Denmark officials next week to discuss the situation. Here are four key issues surrounding the meeting.
Chinese inflation accelerates in December. The country’s consumer price index rose 0.8% from a year earlier, as expected by a Reuters poll of economists. That’s the highest level since Feb. 2023. However, inflation was flat for 2025 as a whole.
Divergence between U.S. indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Thursday but the Nasdaq Composite slid as investors rotated out of tech. Asia-Pacific markets mostly advanced Friday. Australia’s Rio Tinto had its worst day since 2022 on news it had entered buyout talks with Glencore. Meanwhile, Asian defense stocks broadly climbed.
[PRO] Venezuela bond bets pay off. Lee Robinson, founder and chief investment officer of distressed debt investor Altana Wealth, captured returns of 30% in Venezuelan bonds after the U.S. attack on the country. Robinson said there’s “more upside” to come.
And finally…
Trump is desperate to take Greenland. Can NATO defend itself — and is it willing to?
Europe spent much of 2025 scrambling to bolster its defenses against Russia — but just a week into the new year, it’s being forced to rethink security once again amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland.
On Monday, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned an American takeover of Greenland would spell the end of NATO. Of NATO’s 32 members, 23 – including Denmark – are also members of the European Union, which has been working extensively to ensure Trump’s administration continues its support for Ukraine.
— Chloe Taylor