Trump drops planned tariffs on Finland, 7 countries over Greenland

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that he would not proceed with tariffs on eight European countries, including Finland that were scheduled to take effect on February 1, reported Xinhua.

He made the announcement following talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and said that the talks produced "the framework of a future deal" concerning Greenland and the broader Arctic region.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the framework emerged from a "very productive meeting" with Rutte and would be "a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations" if finalized.

"Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on Feb. 1," Trump wrote, without providing details on the terms of the proposed agreement.

Trump also said further discussions were underway on "The Golden Dome," a proposed multi-layer missile defense system for the United States, as it relates to Greenland, adding that additional information would be released as talks progress.

He said that U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff will lead the negotiations and report directly to him.

At the time, Trump said the measures would remain in place until a deal is reached for the "complete and total purchase" of Greenland.

Earlier on January 17, Trump said that the United States will impose 10-percent tariffs on all goods from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Britain and the Netherlands over Greenland.

Trump's statement came after the countries, all of them NATO members opposed the U.S. attempt to acquire Greenland, sent troops and diplomatic assets this week to the Arctic territory.