After 2019, Greenland is once again becoming the focus of US geopolitical interests. US President Donald Trump recently confirmed his interest in potentially purchasing the island. But what makes Greenland so important to the United States? The answer lies in a mixture of geographical location, valuable mineral resources and military importance.
• US President Donald Trump wants to make Greenland part of the USA
• Important US air base
• Raw material wealth could strengthen the US’s role vis-à-vis China
Advertising
Trade oil, gold, all raw materials with leverage (up to 20) via CFD (starting from €100)
Participate in price fluctuations in oil, gold and other raw materials with leverage and small spreads! With just 100 euros you can trade with leverage with the effect of 2,000 euros of capital.
Plus500: Please note the instructions5 about this advertisement.
During his first presidency, Donald Trump expressed interest in buying Greenland in 2019. He appears to want to continue pursuing this strategy of US territorial expansion during his second term in office. A few weeks before he took office, he drew attention to himself with new statements about the USA’s interest in Canada, the Panama Canal and, above all, Greenland. “For reasons of national security and freedom in the world, the United States of America believes that possession and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump said in a statement in December – and again in early January after. “People really don’t know if Denmark has a legal right to it, but if they have it, they should give it up because we need it for national security,” said the Republican politician, who has since been sworn in as US president. To achieve his goal, Trump did not rule out the use of military or economic coercion.
Greenland’s key geopolitical and military role
Greenland, the largest island in the world in terms of area with only around 57,000 inhabitants, has belonged to Denmark for more than 600 years, according to “tagesschau.de” and is also supported financially and in foreign and security issues by the European country, but is still largely autonomous. However, due to its location in the North Atlantic, the island is a geopolitical heavyweight. Due to its location in the Arctic and its relative proximity to Russia, Greenland is in a strategically important place and during the Cold War, then President Harry Truman offered 100 million US dollars in gold for the island, according to “tagesschau.de” – but in vain.
However, through a decades-old agreement, the USA operates the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, an air force base in the south of the island. This includes an airfield and early warning systems to detect ballistic missile launches, for example from Russia, because the shortest route from Europe to North America leads via Greenland.
In addition, Greenland is geographically part of the North American continent, which is why the United States would also like to include the island as part of its territory. As “tagesschau.de” explains, Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, is closer to New York than to the Danish metropolis of Copenhagen. Ulrik Pram Gad from the Danish Institute for International Studies told the news portal that it is therefore crucial for the USA that no other major power gains a foothold on the island.
Valuable raw materials: Greenland as an Arctic treasure trove
Another reason for the US’s interest lies in Greenland’s rich raw material reserves. The island’s ice sheet hides large deposits of gold, copper, rare earths and other raw materials that are becoming increasingly easier to access due to global warming. According to Investing.com, a 2023 study found that 25 of the 34 minerals classified as “critical raw materials” by the EU are found on the island. Many of them are important for key technologies such as electromobility – for example rare earths, graphite, copper or nickel – or find applications in other industrial areas – such as titanium, vanadium or tungsten. Diamonds, uranium, oil and natural gas can also be found in Greenland.
But the extraction of these treasures often comes up against obstacles: bureaucratic hurdles, resistance from the indigenous population and environmental regulations have so far slowed down the development of the mining sector, although there are some mining companies that have received mining permits for certain areas of Greenland. However, the mining of uranium and the extraction of oil and gas reserves are prohibited for environmental reasons.
Rare earth production is currently dominated by China. However, due to the escalating trade dispute with the USA, the Middle Kingdom has now started to restrict exports. If the USA were to succeed in acquiring Greenland, it would have gained an advantage in the trade dispute because it would then no longer be so dependent on the export of these raw materials from China. Strategic access to Greenland’s resources could significantly reduce the West’s dependence on China.
Greenland’s future is currently uncertain
What Greenland’s future will look like remains exciting at the moment – because parliamentary elections are due there in spring 2025 and independence from Denmark is a central issue in the election campaign. In fact, this would be comparatively easy to achieve: the island has had the opportunity to declare itself independent via a referendum since 2009. If Greenland does this, it could then potentially seek closer ties to the USA. And Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said in December, according to “dpa-AFX,” that Denmark could not monitor the huge area alone. “There are no concrete plans, but we will work with the USA,” said the politician. In the meantime, Denmark has even signaled to Donald Trump that it is willing to talk about military and economic agreements in connection with Greenland, according to “Dow Jones Newswires”. This is “not about a deal to buy Greenland,” the news agency quoted a high-ranking Danish official as saying. “But if you have any wishes or requests for us to do more, let’s sit down and talk about it.”
However, both Denmark and the USA could have made the calculations without the residents of Greenland. As the Greenland expert Ulrik Pram Gad emphasized to “tagesschau.de”, “no Greenlander would simply want to switch to a new colonial master”. This is also confirmed by statements from Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte B. Egede: “We don’t want to be Danes. We don’t want to be Americans. Of course we want to be Greenlanders,” he said, according to “dpa-AFX”. “Greenland is ours. […] We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long fight for freedom,” the Prime Minister continued. Therefore, of course, only the Greenlandic people will decide on Greenland’s future. That is “of course the starting point of all the cooperation we have,” said Egede.
Editorial team finanzen.net