President Donald Trump’s push for mineral rights in Greenland may be the latest play in longstanding U.S. efforts to block China from accessing rare earths on the world’s largest island.
Trump has disclosed few details about the Greenland framework deal that he announced after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday. But he told CNBC that it includes mineral rights for the U.S. and other partners, presumably NATO allies though it’s unclear at this stage.
“They’re going to be involved in the Golden Dome, and they’re going to be involved in mineral rights, and so are we,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The Trump administration declined requests for further information when asked by CNBC. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said “as details are finalized by all parties involved, they will be released accordingly.”
“If this deal goes through, and President Trump is very hopeful it will, the United States will be achieving all of its strategic goals with respect to Greenland, at very little cost, forever,” Kelly said in a statement.
