Lucy Campbell (now) and Graeme Wearden in Davos (earlier) 

Denmark welcomes Trump ruling out force to take Greenland, before ‘future deal’ framework announced – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the US president delivered a speech to world leaders
  
  


Trump: we have framework of a Greenland deal; tariff threat dropped

Big breaking news tonight from Davos: Donald Trump has announced that he and Nato chief Mark Rutte have agreed the framework of a “future deal” over Greenland.

It’s not clear what the details are – Trump says the proposed solution would be a great one for the US, and all NATO Nations

And significantly, Trump says he won’t impose the 10% tariffs threatened on eight European countries including the UK.

Here’s the post, from Trump’s Truth Social site:

Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations — They will report directly to me. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

DONALD J. TRUMP
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Our US Politics Live blog is tracking all the developments, with Shrai Popat, here:

Updated

Closing summary

  • Donald Trump ruled out using military force to annex Greenland, but called for “immediate negotiations” to acquire the Arctic island. The US president also told world leaders at the World Economic Form at Davos that a US acquisition of Greenland would strengthen the Nato alliance.

  • Meanwhile at several points during his speech, Trump appeared to confuse Greenland with Iceland, claiming “Iceland” had caused a drop in stock prices yesterday – when markets fell as a result of his threat to impose new tariffs on eight European countries. The White House swiftly did its best to deny the confusion.

  • The US president repeated his usual claims that Nato has treated the US unfairly, and “it’s time that Nato steps up” as “we are helping them with Ukraine”. He claimed that Greenland costs Denmark “hundreds of millions a year to run it”, and while Denmark is “a small country and wonderful people, it is very expensive” for “a very big piece of ice”. He also repeated his – offensive – questioning of whether Nato “would be there for us” (see also: 9/11).

  • The European parliament suspended work on the EU-US trade deal, in protest against Trump’s threat to impose 10% tariffs on EU exports unless the bloc supports his bid to take over Greenland. Bernd Lange, head of the European parliament trade committee, said until “the threats [on Greenland] are over there will be no possibility for compromise” on ratifying the US deal, which promised Americans a new era of 0% tariffs on many industrial exports.

  • And a meeting between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to take place tomorrow, with the US president saying on Wednesday that “we are reasonably close to deal on Ukraine”.

Earlier, we reported that Donald Trump appeared to confuse Greenland with Iceland during his speech in Davos, and – despite what we all heard – the White House is now steadfastly denying that there was a mix-up at all.

To elaborate on our earlier post, in one of several such mix-ups, Trump said:

They’re [Nato] not there for us on Iceland, that I can tell you, I mean our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland, so Iceland’s already cost us a lot of money.

Despite this fact, in response to a journalist highlighting Trump’s mix-ups on X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt hit back with this denial:

No he didn’t, Libby. His written remarks referred to Greenland as a ‘piece of ice’ because that’s what it is. You’re the only one mixing anything up here.

Leavitt included a screenshot of a search for Greenland featuring a picture of a block of ice in the sea in front of some land.

Updated

The Norwegian finance minister and former Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has told CNN it was “important” that Donald Trump had ruled out using military force to annex Greenland.

Of course, that is an important message, because up to now many were afraid that he actually was going to threaten to use force to acquire Greenland.

Nonetheless, he continued, Greenland and Denmark’s “territorial integrity should be respected by all”.

Stoltenberg also noted to CNN that politicians should be careful while texting each other, as “it may become public”. It comes after Trump shared text messages from other leaders on social media earlier this week, including Norway’s PM Jonas Gahr Støre and French president Emmanuel Macron.

Donald Trump has just delivered brief remarks at a business leaders’ reception at Davos, I’ll bring you any key quotes here once we get them through.

Updated

After some confusion over timings, the Trump/Zelenskyy meeting is now confirmed to be taking place tomorrow, not today – and the Ukrainian president will travel to Davos for that meeting.

It means that he will be meeting the Ukrainian president just as his peace envoy Steve Witkoff will be in Moscow for talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Trump is now holding top-level meetings here at the World Economic Forum.

The US president has met with Polish President Karol Nawrocki following his address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, the White House says.

There’s quite a scrum of security people, and WEF delegates, at the part of the congress centre set aside for bilateral meetings.

The U.S. president also had meetings scheduled with the leaders of Switzerland, Egypt and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. He was due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday, Reuters says.

Denmark's foreign minister: The problem hasn't gone away

Denmark’s foreign minister has said Donald Trump’s statement that he would not use force to take Greenland was positive, even though the US president hasn’t dropped his ambitions to acquire the island

Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters (Bloomberg reports):

“What is clear after this speech is that the president’s ambition [to own Greenland] remains intact.

“It is, in isolation, positive that it is being said that military force will not be used, but that does not make the problem go away. The challenge is still there.”

Guardian newsroom: Year One of Trumpism: Is Britain Emulating the US?

Tonight, join Jonathan Freedland, Tania Branigan, Anand Menon and Nick Lowles as they reflect on the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency – and to ask if Britain could be set on the same path.

Book tickets here or at guardian.live

Markets higher as investors welcome 'no force' pledge on Greenland

Donald Trump’s pledge today not to use force to take control of Greenland is going down well in the financial markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average share index is up almost 1% so far today at 48,944 points, clawing back most of Tuesday’s losses when geopolitical fears rocked the markets.

The broader S&P 500 index is up just over 1%.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at brokerage XTB, reports that the ‘sell America trade’ has become the ‘buy America trade’.

Here’s why:

The President’s speech at Davos was the most anticipated event of the week. It was delivered in his traditional style: very long, full of anecdotes, and wide ranging in terms of scope.

However, there were two key takeaways for markets. Firstly, Trump will not take Greenland by force and 2, Trump wants the economy to run hot to send US stocks flying north.

Farage: World would be safer if US owned Greenland

Nigel Farage has suggested the world would be a “better, more secure place” if America took over Greenland, PA Media report.

The Reform leader is here in Davos, and discussed Trump’s speech at an event at USA House (the American delegation’s base here, in a Davos church).

But Farage also acknowledged that the move would not be consistent with national sovereignty, or his belief in national self-determination.

He says:

“I have no doubt that the world would be a better, more secure place if a strong America was in Greenland, because of the geopolitics of the High North, because of the retreating ice caps and because of the continued expansionism of Russian icebreakers, of Chinese investment.

“So yes, would America owning Greenland be better for the world in terms of safety and stronger for Nato? It would.

“However, if you believe in Brexit, and if you believe in celebrating America’s 250th birthday, if you believe in the nation states and not globalist structures, you believe in sovereignty.

“And if you believe in sovereignty, you believe in the principle of national self-determination.”

Adam Tooze: Trump supporters here have attitude of 'serial abuser'

WEF attendees are mulling over Trump’s speech.

My colleague Heather Stewart has just been chatting to the economic historian Adam Tooze, who’s been watching Trump’s speech here in Davos.

He compared the attitude of US Trump supporters he’s met here to that of a “serial abuser,” saying one top US executive had told him, “this is how it’s going to be: we’re going to beat up on you [Europe]; it’s going to hurt - then we’re going to beat up on you some more. You’re going to squeal. And then we’re going to do some kind of a deal on our terms.”

He added,

“They’re just simply saying, ‘you have to accept this is how we are now. This is what it’s like’.”

Asked about how other governments should respond, Tooze said:

“I think we ought to be thinking quite hard about whatever the international equivalent of getting up and leaving is. We need to strengthen ourselves, and have coalitions of friendly people.”

From one populist to another…..

Argentina’s president Javier Milei is now giving a special address, and tells WEF that “Machiavelli is dead”.

He’s banging the drum for liberalism, and outlining how we need to return to “Judeo-Christian values” to save the west, with some philosophical musings on the rights of man.

Quotes to follow…

Newsom: Trump speech was 'boring' and 'boorish'

Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, described Trump’s speech as the “one of the most insignificant hours I’ve spent in years - and I think the world spent”.

My colleague John Collingridge reports that Newsom gave Trump’s special address a withering review here in Davos, saying:

“It was significant in its insignificance. He said what we all knew- that he’s not going to invade Greenland.”

Newsom, one of the leading contenders among Democratic candidates for president in 2028, said it was “boring, and at times boorish”.

“Fire and fury amounting to quite literally absolutely nothing”.

Newsom said Europe “should be worried if they don’t respond firmly, with conviction to stand tall and what more evidence do you need of that than today?”

He said the response of European leaders including France’s Emmanuel Macron appeared to have tempered Trump.

“What happened yesterday he responded to, and multiple things happened yesterday - it was not just Macron and the EU president’s speech, and Carney’s speech, but the markets reacted.”

Updated

Fact check: ‘There are no real wind farms in China”

In his Wednesday remarks at Davos, Trump once again showcased his bitter dislike of wind energy.

He said:

“One thing I’ve noticed is that the more windmills a country has, the more money that country loses, and the worse that country is doing.”

The US president claimed that “China makes almost all of the windmills, and yet I haven’t been able to find any wind farms in China.”

“China’s very smart: They make them, they sell them for a fortune,” he said. “They sell them to the stupid people that buy them, but they don’t use them themselves.”

The “couple of big wind farms” that China does have are not in use, Trump claimed.

“They just put them up to show people what they could look like, but they don’t spin, they don’t do anything,” he said, adding that for energy, “mostly China goes with the coal, they go with oil and gas, they’re starting to look at nuclear a little bit, and they’re doing just fine.”

He went on to say China is “shocked that people continue to buy those damn things.”

“They killed the birds, they ruined your landscapes,” he said. “Other than that, I think they’re fabulous, by the way. Stupid people buy them.”

China has more wind capacity than any other country in the world and has twice as much capacity under construction than the rest of the world combined.

China’s wind generation in 2024 equaled 40 percent of global wind generation, according to a 2025 report from think tank Ember Energy. It is also building 180 gigawatts of large solar projects and 159 gigawatts of large wind projects, which together amount to nearly two-thirds of the capacity coming online worldwide, an analysis from Global Energy Monitor says.

Updated

European Green Party co-chair Vula Tsetsi is urging European leaders to “stand united against Trump’s bullying” over Greenland.

Following the US president’s demands today to be allowed to acquire Greenland, Tsetsi says:

Trump’s insistence that he will ‘acquire’ Greenland reveal a dangerous nationalistic trajectory, pushing the United States towards a petro-state model, marked by domestic repression and an openly imperial agenda.’

‘We call on all pro-European and democratic forces to act together to defend our values, safeguard Europe’s autonomy, and build a green, self-determined Europe that can uphold international law, defend democracy, and protect people’s rights, including those of the people of Greenland.’

Green energy campaigners are quick to criticise Trump’s comments on green energy, and his call for more drilling in the North Sea today.

Greenpeace UK climate campaigner Lily-Rose Ellis says the US president is wrong to call for more fossil fuel drilling there:

“Trump’s knowledge of North Sea oil and gas amounts to a tottering pile of lies. More oil and gas from UK fields won’t take a penny off our energy bills, taxes on drilling firms are a lot lower than he claims, and gas reserves are running dry.

Our best hope of lowering bills and boosting energy security is to fix our draughty homes and double down on homegrown renewables. The UK government can safely ignore advice from a climate denier bankrolled by the fossil fuel industry and keep working to protect the country from the volatility of oil and gas.”

Tessa Khan, executive director at Uplift, says Trump’s views on UK energy policy are ill-informed, to say the least.

Last year he claimed the UK has 100 years of reserves left, now its 500 years. It’s nonsense.

“After more than fifty years, the UK has burned most of its gas and what’s left of the oil is increasingly difficult and expensive to extract. Regardless of any new drilling, the UK will be dependent on gas imports for nearly two thirds of its gas in just five years time and almost 100 per cent by 2050.

“Of course Donald Trump wants us to remain dependent on fossil fuels - and on US gas specifically - but that’s not in the UK’s national interest. Renewable energy, which we’re lucky to have in abundance, is the only way to reduce our exposure to energy price shocks and mean we are not at the mercy of bad actors like Putin or the whims of Trump.

“Trump is cheerleader-in-chief for an industry that has made obscene profits while millions of people here have struggled with unaffordable energy bills, and which is fuelling the rapid changes we’re seeing to our climate.

“Lets not take advice from a man who thinks climate change is a con job, who is pursuing a policy of US ‘energy dominance’ and who has openly used force to seize the world’s oil resources.”

Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, says there’s nothing new in Donald Trump’s speech to Davos apart from the pledge not to use force against Greenland- which he says was “never on the table” anyway.

So while it will make headlines, Mark Carney’s speech yesterday (about the rupture in the world order) is the one that matters.

This is curious…. the AFP newswire are reporting that Ukrainian president Zelenskyy is in Kyiv, not at Davos today as Trump suggested in his speech when he said he’d meet with him here (see earlier post).

Back on the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump seems baffled by the poor relations between Moscow and Kyiv.

There is “abnormal hatred” in the relationship, he says.

On Greenland, Trump is like a dog with a meaty bone.

He says the current situation is costing Denmark hundreds of millions of dollars to run it.

It’s very important that we use it for national, and international security, he insists.

It will allow the US to “create a power that will make it impossible for the bad guys to do anything against the perceived good ones.”

Nato has treated the US very unfairly, he claims.

Trump’s now taking a few questions from top WEF operative Børge Brende.

After a jibe at Scott Bessent’s youthful footballing skills (or lack of), Trump then compliments China’s president Xi.

He says he’s always had a very good relation with president Xi, and president Putin – the heads of the “larger powers”.

Xi is an incredible man, Trump gushes, adding what he’s done “is amazing”, he’s respected by everyone.

We then get an anecdote about Xi asked Trump to stop referring to Covid-19 as the “China virus”.

As Trump starts taking questions in Davos, the chair of the European parliament’s trade committee Bernd Lange confirms that “the EU-US deal is on hold until further notice” as the lawmakers pause its implementation process.

In a social media post, he added:

“Our negotiating team just decided to suspend work … on the legal implementation of Turnberry deal. Our sovereignty and territorial integrity are at stake. Business as usual impossible.”

Trump finally wraps up his speech, saying:

The US is back, bigger, stronger than ever before

I’ll see you around.

Some members of the audience stand up to applaud, but it doesn’t feel like as warm a reaction as Mark Carney got yesterday for his speech about the rupture facing the world economy.

You can read a transcript of Carney’s speech here:

And you can read analysis of that speech here:

Updated

On Minnesota, Trump criticises the “mass import” of foreign cultures, citing Somalia.

He then hits out at “fake congressperson” Ilhan Omar, criticising her for “telling us how to run America”

[Omar is the representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district, so offering such input is rather within her remit].

Also worth mentioning, as I did the other day, that in 1916 the then US state secretary Robert Lansing issued a statement saying the US “will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland.”

It was part of a broader deal in which the US and Denmark agreed to trade West Indies.

“In proceeding this day to the signature of the Convention respecting the cession of the Danish West-Indian Islands to the United States of America, the undersigned Secretary of State of the United States of America, duly authorized by his Government, has the honor to declare that the Government of the United States of America will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland.

Robert Lansing.

New York, August 4, 1916”

Updated

Here are some more images of Trump at Davos:

Updated

We also get a lengthy riff about Trump’s negotiations with Switzerland over tariffs.

He warns that lower Swiss tariffs doesn’t mean they can’t go up – a great way to cheer his hosts.

And, is Trump feeling conscious about his age?

He remarks that while he doesn’t feel old, he is among the older members at Davos.

Updated

Fact check: Trump repeats baseless claim that the US ‘gave back’ Greenland to Denmark

Throughout his speech today, Donald Trump has repeated a baseless claim that the US returned Greenland to Denmark after the second world war.

“We already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago,” the president said.

It’s a common refrain from the president, but it’s worth noting that the United States has never owned the autonomous territory.

It’s been a part of the Kingdom of Denmark for centuries, a fact that is established under international law, and recognised by the US.

While the US did set up military bases in Greenland (via a wartime security agreement with Denmark) during the second world war, it didn’t confer any actual ownership.

In 1946, then-president Harry Truman secretly pitched to buy Greenland, but it was ultimately rejected by the Danish.

Trump then claims the US should have the lowest interest rates in the world – because “without us”, other countries would have nothing.

[Trump has something of a point here – US government debt is the ‘risk-free’ asset in the financial markets. America, with its control of the dollar, should never have to default.

However, long-term government bond yields also reflect market expectations for inflation, and thus interest rates].

He then hits out at investors for pushing down the stock market when there is great economic news, because they think interest rates will go up.

Trump says he wants to build ‘greatest Golden Dome ever built’ over Greenland

Trump says that if there’s ever a nuclear war, “those missiles will be flying right over the centre of that piece of ice” (that’s Greenland) and he says he needs it to build “the greatest Golden Dome ever built.”

He also adds that the installation would also protect Canada, saying “Canada gets a lot of freebies from us,” saying it’s prime minister Mark Carney should be “grateful”.

There is also a random shout out to Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling him not to claim credit for the Golden Dome technology, as it’s American.

On to monetary policy, and Trump says he will annouce the identity of the next chair of the Federal Reserve very soon.

“He” will do a very good job, Trump predicts – meaning we can rule out half the US population from getting the top central banking job.

All the candidaters are great, they could all could do a fantastic job, Trump continues, before chucking an elbow at the incumbent, the “terrible chairman” Jerome “too late” Powell.

Updated

Trump talks about his plans to bring down the cost of living in America.

With a swipe at Joe Biden (a ‘horrible president’), Trump tells Davos he signed an executive order yesterday which tries to advance his effort to ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.

He adds that he is calling on Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year.

This will help Americans save for a home, he says.

Trump then turns to Emmanuel Macron, questioning why the French president gave a speech yesterday in some rather natty sunglasses.

[reportedly, Macron has an eye infection]

“I actually like him, it’s hard to believe,” Trump jibes, before relating how he used the threat of tariffs to persude European countries to cut the cost of prescription drugs in the US.

And in a painful moment, Trump says you can say he’s brought down drug prices by 2,000%.

The fake news, he says, might only call it a 90% reduction, but that sounds “much worse”. [although more accurate].

Trump: We will remember if you say no over Greenland

Trump then gets the verbal thumbscrews out on the global elite, as he lobbies them to let him acquire Greenland.

Capturing the ‘art of the deal’, Trump tells the World Economic Forum:

You can say yes and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no and we will remember.

In a confusing moment, Trump blames “Iceland” for the drop on the US stock market yesterday.

Trump: not sure Nato would be there for us

We’re back on Greenland now – Trump says the island can play “a vital role in world peace and world protection”.

He insists it is “a very small ask”, compared to what the US has given Nato for many decades.

And he questions the commitment of fellow Nato members to the alliance, saying:

We’re there for Nato 100%, I’m not sure if they’d be there for us.

[except they were after 9/11, Donald].

Trump tells Davos that the Russia-Ukraine war has to stop.

He says he’s dealing with Vladimir Putin, “he wants to make a deal”.

He thinks Volodymyr Zelenskyy – who he will meet later today here in Davos – also wants to make a deal.

He says:

They’ve got to get that war stopped.

Trump: I won't use force to take Greenland

On to Nato, Trump says: “We give so much, and we get so little in return.”

Trump says the US only gets “death, disruption, and massive amounts of cash [given] to people who don’t appreciate what we do” – and he’s taking about both Nato and Europe generally.

Trump then points out Nato chief Mark Rutte in the audience – who this morning was complimentary about Trump’s pressure to raise military spending among Nato members.

Trump appears to state that he won’t use force to obtain Greenland.

We won’t get anything unless I use excessive strength and force, when we would be unstoppable.

I won’t use force.

Trump then claims that the US has got “nothing out of Nato”, apart from protecting Europe from Russia.

[This is, frankly, offensive. Nato’s collective defence pledge, Article 5, has only been activated once, after 9/11].

And Trump then repeats his desire to acquire Greenland.

Updated

Trump: Seeking immediate negotiations for purchase of Greenland

Here we go: Trump then tells Davos that the US are seeking “immediate negotiations” to discuss the acquisition of Greenland.

[Reminder, Denmark has said the semi-autonomous island is not for sale].

Trump: US ‘takes great care’ about the people of Europe, but they are ‘destroying themselves’

Trump says the US “takes great care” about the people Europe, mentioning his Scottish and German heritage within family, and says “we believe deeply in bonds we share with Europe as a civilisation.”

But, BUT, he says:

“That’s why issues like energy, trade, immigration and economic growth must be central concerns to anyone who wants to see a strong and united west, because Europe and those countries have to do their thing.

They have to get out of the culture that they’ve created over the last ten years.

It’s horrible what they’re doing to themselves. They’re destroying themselves. … We want strong allies, not seriously weakened ones.”

Trump: You'd be speaking German and Japanese without us

On to the Greenland crisis – Trump says he wondered about dropping this from his speech (but it’s the issue everyone cares about).

He starts with a relatively conciliatory tone, saying:

I have tremendous respect for the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark.

But every Nato member has an obligation to defend their own territory.

No one can secure Greenland apart from the US, he insists.

He says the world saw this in the second world war, when “Denmark fell to Germany after six hours of fighting”.

We were then compelled to send our own forces to hold the Greenland territory, at great cost and expense, Trump says, setting up military bases on this “big beautiful piece of ice”.

And lurching into language popularised by England’s football fans, Trump tells the WEF that America won the second world war.

Without us, you’d be speaking German and Japanese perhaps, he declares.

After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? How ungrateful are they now, Trump muses.

Updated

Donald Trump says “he wants the UK to do great”, before criticising Britain’s green energy strategy.

Joking that you’re “supposed to make money with energy, not lose it”, Trump is now banging on about how green energy is a fraud.

He’s criticising the decision to wind down drilling in the North Sea (part of the strategy to fight the climate emergency), saying companies have been put off from drilling through windfall taxes.

Trump then slips into a riff about China’s role in the green tech industry, saying you “never seen a wind farm in China” – they only build them as demonstrations to persuade ‘stupid people’ to buy them.

On to Venezuela, and Trump mentions glibly that the US just picked up 50m barrels of Venezuelan oil (following the capture of its leader Nicolás Maduro).

[This is a controversial issue, though, as the oil was sold to a company whose senior oil trader donated to Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.]

“Venezuela is going to do fantastically well,” Trump promises, saying it will quickly make more money than in the last 20 years.

Updated

Europe 'not heading in right direction', Trump says

We didn’t have to wait long for a first swipe at Europe.

Trump says he wants to share his recipe for the US success for others to follow, as he says “certain places in Europe are not even recognisable.”

“We can argue about it, but there’s no argument. Friends come back from different places – I don’t want to insult anybody – and say, I don’t recognise it. And that’s not in a positive way, that’s in a very negative way.

And I love Europe and I want to see Europe go good, but it’s not heading in the right direction.”

Updated

On trade, Trump suggests that nearly every country who’ve signed a trade deal with US have seen their stock markets boom.

He reminds WEF:

When the United States goes up, you follow.

Modesty is not high on the agenda for this speech.

Citing the new “100% expensing” rules brought in to support company investment, Trump declares “a miracle is taking place” in the US economy, which “no-one thought it would ever be done by any country”.

He adde that his first term as president was the “most successful term ever” from a financial perspective.

Trump then declares that he is lowering taxes, and raising tariffs on foreign nations – to pay for the damage he says they have caused.

[However, tariffs are paid by importers, ie US companies and consumers].

Trump then attacks ‘unchecked, mass migration’, and Europe’s green energy focus.

He claims that certain places in Europe are “not recognisable, frankly”.

He says friends come back from different places, and say ‘I don’t recognise’ it, in a negative way.

Trump insists he wants Europe to go well, but claims Europe is not moving in the right direction.

What should we be watching out for? Who knows what to expect.

But you can imagine Trump will want to make his views on Greenland clear, including any potential impact on Nato as a knock-on effect, and he can also be expected to touch upon the related issues, such as the US trade and wider relationship with Europe.

Be in no doubt about the seriousness of this moment: most political Europe will be on very high alert for his every word on these issues.

For Europe specific reaction to Trump’s speech, I’ll also be posting in the Europe live blog here.

Trump: Inflation has been defeated

Donald Trump starts his speech by saying it’s a pleasure to be back in Davos (he was last here in 2020).

He jokes that it’s nice to be back with “So many friends, a few enemies,” winning a laugh from his audience.

Trump declares that “inflation has been defeated” and America’s previous “open and dangerous border” has been closed.

[inflation was last clocked at 2.7% per year, over the Federal Reserve’s 2% target].

He brags that he’s delivering the most remarkable transformation in US history, and promises growth that no country has seen before.

Core inflation is just 1.6%, he adds, while Q4 2025 growth is predicted 5.4% – far higher than anyone apart from Trump himself predicted.

Trump's speech is under way

Trump kicks off his speech, and quickly promises US “growth like no country has ever seen before”.

“People are doing very well, they’re very happy with me,” he tells the audience.

Updated

Donald Trump’s speech is definitely running late, as he doesn’t seem to have arrived yet.

UPDATE: However, he then appeared on stage, much to the surprise of attendees clustered around the entrance where the US president was expected to arrive….

Updated

My colleague and the Guardian’s economics editor, Heather Stewart, has sent us this video of the queue to enter the hall:

Updated

A new scrum has formed to glimpse Trump's arrival.

WEF staff are pleading with delegates to move away from the hall.

Inside the congress hall

Here’s a view of the scene inside the congress centre:

Updated

With a sickening thud, the doors of the Congress Centre hall here in Davos have slammed shut – the room is at capacity.

This has left a small crowd unable to get in – they’re now scattering to other rooms here which will broadcast it.

Can’t remember this happening before – the hall has an official capacity of 5,000 people (they may have restricted numbers, though).

Updated

Donald Trump arrives in Davos

Donald Trump has now landed at Davos, having been whisked up to the alpine ski resort in his helicopter, Marine One.

He’s now being rushed to the World Economic Forum’s congress centre, right in the centre of Davos, in the Beast (his highly secure car).

Updated

It’s a very organised queue to see the US president, at least:

World Economic Forum delegates are swarming around the main hall at the congress centre today, desperate to get a good seat for Donald Trump’s speech.

It’s still scheduled to start in 45 minutes.

Tensions are certainly high at Davos this year.

Bloomberg are reporting that ECB president Christine Lagarde left a VIP dinner here last night, after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick started laying into Europe, according to people familiar with the matter.

Dimon: I'd be more polite about Europe criticism

Jamie Dimon then tells WEF that the world needs “a stronger Nato”.

The head of JP Morgan tells WEF that Europe should also strengthen its economy, by implementing the recommendations of the recent Draghi report into competitiveness.

That would be good for Europe and very good for America, Dimon suggests.

Asked whether Donald Trump is making the world safer, or not, Dimon suggests that “it’s not a binary thing”.

He argues that it’s OK to point out Europe’s weaknesses, but concedes that he’d be more polite about it.

Updated

Dimon: We're not going to kill our employees tomorrow with AI

On artificial intelligence, Jamie Dimon says take-up will be “parabolic”, saving AI is a ‘massive’ technology.

And he warns that this change may come too fast for society.

If that happens, Dimon suggests, business, society and government need to step in.

Q: what should goverments do?

Dimon suggests that government, at a local level, should step in and stop a company laying off huge numbers of staff to replace them with AI (such as a trucking firm, for example), by providing incentives to retrain staff.

He insists:

“We’re not going to kill all our employees tomorrow with AI”

Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is holding a ‘conversation’ at WEF now.

Asked for the secret of his success, Dimon modestly demures that he’s made a lot of mistakes in his career.

But he then cites “relentless grit”, along with attention to detail, fixing problem quickly, reversing course when you’re wrong, and hiring great people.

[modestly put, Jamie!]

Q: What do you wish you’d done differently?

Dimon says he tends to regret situations where he waited too long before making a decision or put up too much bureaucracy.

Also “people mistakes” – which take a long time to fix.

However, he doesn’t worry too much about situations where the bank lost money.

You can watch Jamie Dimon here:

Trump / Merz talks at Davos cancelled due to delayed US flight

Trump’s late arrival has had a knock-on impact on the president’s plans for meetings here in Davos.

A planned bilateral meeting today between the US president and German chancellor Friedrich Merz at the World Economic Forum Wednesday has been cancelled due to the US delegation’s late arrival, a German source told Reuters.

Trump lands in Zurich

Donald Trump has landed in Switzerland, finally, after his journey was disrupted by technical problems on Air Force One

A aeroplane with “United States of America” plastered down the fuselage has touched down at Zurich airport in the last few minutes.

Associated Press report that Trump landed nearly two hours after he was originally scheduled to arrive.

Updated

Lutnick 'heckled' at WEF dinner

US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick was reportedly heckled at a World Economic Forum dinner in Davos hosted by BlackRock’s Larry Fink.

The Financial Times have the details, saying:

The gathering on Tuesday night descended into uproar after combative remarks from Lutnick, the people said, with widespread jeering, some guests walking out and appeals for calm from Fink, head of the world’s largest asset manager and interim co-chair of WEF.

Reeves: No reason why UK-US trade deal can't continue to stand

Speaking to reporters in Davos, UK chancellor Rachel Reeves said the existing US trade deal stands, and she had been in regular touch on WhatsApp with US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who this morning suggested there were “glitches” in the trade deal.

“There is no reason why the trade deal that was done last year can’t continue to stand,” she said. Reeves said both she and business secretary Peter Kyle had met the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Davos.

Asked how she would advise exporters wondering what tariffs they may face next month, she said:

“British businesses know that the UK Government has their back. Last year, we secured the first and the best trade deal with the US. But the US is not our only trading partner, and because of our work last year, we secured with India the best trade deal with any country in the world. We also did a trade deal with the Republic of Korea, and we are improving trade relations with Canada, and crucially, with our nearest neighbors and trading partners in the EU so we’re providing new opportunities for British businesses?”

On domestic matters, Reeves appeared to suggest that a support package for pubs to help them cope with the business rates rises announced at the budget would not cover the wider hospitality sector.

“I do recognise the particular challenge that pubs face at the moment, and so have been working with the sector over the last few weeks to make sure that the right support is in place. And we’ll be announcing something in the next few days: we’ve just been using this time to get the package right. Challenged on whether that meant other businesses would not be included, she added, “I think the situation the pub face is different from other parts of the hospitality sector.”

Reeves also had a dig at Nigel Farage, who is out here in Davos courting attention. “What is his economic plan?” she asked.

He said that Liz Truss’s budget was the best budget he’d ever seen, and we saw the damage that that did.

She added:

It’s very easy to put out a tweet, put something out on Tiktok. It is harder to actually get concrete results to British businesses and British workers.

Updated

Gavin Newsom: I'm in Bessent's head

I just caught up with California governor Gavin Newsom here in Davos, and asked him about Scott Bessent’s claim this morning that Newson was smug, self-absorbed and economically illiterate.

Newsom replies:

I’m in his head.

Newsom also predicted that the most interesting elements of Donald Trump’s speech will be the parts which aren’t on the teleprompter – they will be shaped by what he sees on Fox News on the flight over, he predicts.

Newsom suggests that the only force that could change Trump’s approach is the markets.

And he denies that he’s come to the World Economic Forum to play the role of “resistance leader”, insisting:

No, I’m here to express a different point of view.

He also describes Trump as a “historically unpopular president”, with policies are undeniable unpopular with many Americans.

And Newsom – a plausible candidate to be the Democratic candidate in 2028 – singles out Mark Carney, Ursula von der Leyen and Emmanuel Macron for praise, telling reporters:

I was very pleased to hear prime minister Carney’s remarks yesterday, the EU president’s remarks were powerful, and Macron’s.

Updated

Finnish president Alexander Stubb says Russia’s economy is in trouble after four years of war, with high inflation and heavy casualties.

“I’m more worried about Russia’s unwillingness to end this war because they cannot afford to do so than about Russia’s capability to end this war because they are moving ahead.

“This war has been an utter strategic failure of President Putin. He increased the size of Nato, he made Ukraine European, he increased the defence budgets of European states.

Here we are asking ourselves, shaking, ‘Are we able to defend ourselves?’ My answer: yes we are.”

Update: Nvidia present and CEO Jensen Huang’s WEF discussion has now ended, you can watch his session back here:

Updated

Rutte: Ukraine must be number one priority

European leaders are in danger of losing focus on the war in Ukraine as Donald Trump’s demand to annex Greenland distracts them, the secretary general of Nato warns.

Mark Rutte says the “main issue is not Greenland - the main issue is Ukraine”.

“I’m a little bit worried that we might drop the ball focusing on these other issues,” he tells a panel at the World Economic Forum discussing on European defence.

“This focus on Ukraine should be our number one priority. It should be Ukraine first because it is crucial for our European and US security.”

Rutte also says he has no doubt that the US would come to Europe’s protection if needed. We need each other for our mutual protection, he adds.

Rutte also credits Trump with pushing European NATO members to increase their military spending, saying it wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

Rutte says:

“If we Europeans here in Nato are thinking that because of the €90bn [loan] the commission has been able to bring together or because the peace process is moving in the right direction, we can forget about the defence of Ukraine, don’t.

“They need our support now, tomorrow and the day after.

“I need European allies to keep focused on this issue. “

Updated

Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, has told Davos she will continue to push Donald Trump to drop his tariffs.

Speaking at a panel here, Whitmer describes herself as a “GSD – get shit done – democrat”, who’s prepared to lobby Trump to get results for Michigan.

Whitmer describes her relationship with Trump as “complicated”, as she disagrees with the US president on about 95% of issues.

When I disagree about tariffs, he hears it.

It hasn’t changed his mind yet, but I’m going to keep trying.

Egypt’s president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has told Davos that the Palestinian cause is still “at the forefront of priorities” in the Middle East.

He told a panel at Davos that resolving Palestinian cause “is the core of regional stability, and a cornerstone to achieve a just and comprehensive peace.”

The Egyptian leader also welcomed Donald Trump’s efforts to help reach a ceasefire that stopped the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October.

Sisi and Trump are expected to meet at Davos.

Updated

AI job losses risk 'revolution'

I’m at a panel on “Preventing Jobless Growth,” where Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO coalition of unions, which represents 15m workers, has just fired a strongly-worded warning shot about the risks of mass layoffs as a result of AI adoption - a big topic here in Davos this year.

“The economy...isn’t working for working people now. We have inequality at its highest level. People are working harder and harder for less. They’re working two and three jobs just to keep up in the US workers,” she said.

“Now, put AI on top of that - the insecurity that we’re all experiencing - the fact that people are waking up and some new technology is landing on them in their jobs, without training, without them having a say: of course they’re going to be anxious.”

She added:

“I think we really need to stop, and say: ‘who are we doing this for? What are the results we want, and how we get there?’ Well, we get there by including workers in the process...If we can all agree that this is to make our jobs better and safer, easier, more productive, then we’re all in. But if you’re looking to just deskill, dehumanise, replace workers, you know, put people out on the street with no path forward - then absolutely you’re going to have a revolution.”

Sweden will not participate in president Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” initiative with the text presented so far, prime minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters here in Davos.

Gold at record high amid Greenland crisis

Anxiety over Donald Trump’s drive to take control of Greenland, and a sell-off in Japan’s bond market, have helped to drive gold to a new record high today.

Spot gold hit a fresh record of $4,878 an ounce today, as demand for safe-haven assets grew ahead of the US president’s speech to Davos later today.

An exotic blend of rising geopolitical tensions between the US and the EU — over Donald Trump’s willingness to buy Greenland — and a major selloff in Japanese government bonds, in the context of Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi confirming a snap election on February 8 in hopes of consolidating power and injecting more public money into the Japanese economy, rattled global financial markets yesterday,” explained Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.

Reeves 'secures £1.5bn investment' at Davos

The Treasury claims Rachel Reeves has secured £1.5bn of investment into the UK through conversations with corporate leaders here in Davos.

They highlight two deals - a £1bn “social investment” fund from pension fund M&G, to be invested across the country, and confirmation of a £500m investment in R&D from biopharmaceutical firm UCB, in Windlesham, Surrey.

Despite the chaos unleashed by Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on the UK and seven other European countries, as he bids to annexe Greenland, Reeves has been keen to present the UK in Davos as a stable place to invest.

The chancellor said:

“I came to Davos to champion Britain as one of the best places in the world to invest, grow a business, and deploy capital – and that plan is working.”

Trump 'likely to be three hours late'

Trump is likely to be three hours late, Scott Bessent suggest, following the problem with Air Force One.

The Treasury secretary adds that he hasn’t seen the updated schedule yet, following the president’s move to a replacement plane.

Trump was due to give his special address at 2.30pm Davos time, or 1.30pm UK – that hasn’t yet changed on the programme

Bessent: French budget is in shambles

Q: President Macron’s office have said they want a NATO exercise in Greenland, what’s your take?

Bessent takes aim at the French president, shooting back:

If this is all President Macron has to do when the French budget is in shambles, I would suggest he focuses on other things for the French people.

Asked about energy, Scott Bessent criticises European countries for building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and buying Russian oil, which handed Putin the war chest to fund his war with Ukraine.

And on the issue of trade deals, Bessent says Europe should break down trade barriers within Europe, and its external trade barriers, arguing:

Europe is a regulatory morass that is built on bureaucracy, and the layering and layering of rules that constrain economic activity.

Updated

Bessent: Greenland needs to be a part of the US

Scott Bessent then says the US are asking its allies to understand that “Greenland needs to be a part of the United States”.

He reminds reporters in Davos that the US bought the US Virgin Islands from Denmark in World War One, adding:

I will remind everyone that Denmark remained neutral during World War One.

They actually sold quite a bit [of land] to the Germans.

[I’m not sure what transation Bessent is referring to with his second point…I think Denmark actually gained Northern Schleswig from Germany in 1920, after WW1]

Bessent: Denmark is irrelevant

Q: Is the US worried that institutional investors in Europe might pull out of the US Treasury market, such as pension funds in Denmark?

Bessent brushes this aside, saying

The size of Denmark’s investment in US Treasury bonds, like Denmark itself, is irrelevant.

He continues:

It is less than $100 million.

They’ve been selling Treasuries for years. I’m not concerned at all.

Scott Bessent then blasts California’s governor, Gavin Newsom.

Asked about Newsom’s claim yesterday that he was a “smug man”, Bessent shoots back that the governor may be “the only Californian who knows less about economics than Kamala Harris”.

Bessent says Newsom is here in Davos this week with his “billionaire sugar daddy” Alex Soros, accusing him of “hobnobbing” with the global elite while California has the largest homeless population in America.

He adds:

Shame on him. He is too smug, too self-absorbed and too economically illiterate to know anything.

Updated

Bessent: UK letting us down over Diego Garcia

Q: Are you going to start a trade war with Europe, and is it worth risking the US economy for Greenland?

Scott Bessent says he’s “not sure” what message the eight European countries who chose to send troops to Greenland were sending.

President Trump has made it clear that the US will not outsource its national security, he adds.

And he accuses “our partner, the UK”, of “letting us down with the base on Diego Garcia” by turning it over to Mauritius.

Bessent says everyone should “take a deep breath”, sit down and wait for Trump to get to Davos, and listen to his argument.

I think they’re going to be persuaded.

Taking questions, Bessent suggests it would be “very disappointing” if Switzerland started to emulate the EU policies of “administration, bureaucracy, and economic sclerosis”.

Bessent: "Grow, baby, grow"

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is holding a press briefing here in Davos, at the US House (in a church just outside the WEF congress centre).

Bessent begins by welcome us to “day one, year two” of the Trump administration, before outlining how the US government is pushing through a rebalancing of international trade – which he says was “long overdue”.

Bessent outlines how the US international trade deficit is narrowing at “an unprecedented pace”, with October’s trade data showing the trade deficit fell to its lowest level since 2009.

He’s arguing that the world is safer and more prosperous when America is strong.

And he coins the term “grow baby, grow”, outlining how growth is the only path out of the amount of debt built up in the global economy, adding:

We can only grow together by expanding trade.

UK inflation rises for first time in five months

Back in the UK, inflation has risen for the first time since last July.

The consumer prices index has risen to 3.4% in December, new data shows, up from 3.2% in November, showing an acceleration in annual inflation.

Price rose by 0.4% in December alone, the Office for National Statistics reports.

Alcohol and tobacco, and transport made the largest upward contributions to the monthly change in inflation.

Updated

The Financial Times are reorting that senior executives at the WEF are weighing whether the organisation’s flagship annual meeting needs to change location, fearing the event has outgrown its traditional Alpine venue in Davos.

Alternative venues, which could rotate, being discussed include Detroit and Dublin, they say.

More here.

Attendees have been suggesting for several years that Davos – a small ski resort – wasn’t big enough to accommodate thousands of WEF visitors each year.

The traffic on the promenade – the main road through the centre of the town – has been bumper-to-bumper at times this week, with most of the shops converted into venues for big businesses or countries.

But, Davos’s isolation and small size does make it easier to implement WEF’s tough security measures….

Trump back in the air and heading to Davos

President Trump is in the air again and headed to Davos, CNN reports.

A new aircraft began rolling down the tarmac at 12:02 am, according to the White House press pool.

They add:

The crew on the plane was hustling to make the transition, quickly moving boxes of fruit, wrapped sandwiches and beverages in and out. Others, outside on the ground, were seen pulling about a dozen suitcases off the plane and placing them onto a truck.

Updated

Trump’s Air Force One turns back to Washington after ‘minor electrical issue’

The US president’s trip to Davos got off to a bad start.

Donald Trump’s plane, Air Force One, was forced to abort its flight to Switzerland on Tuesday and turn back after what officials described as a “minor electrical issue”.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the decision to return to Washington DC had been taken shortly after departure “out of an abundance of caution”, once the crew detected the fault.

A White House pool reporter travelling with the president said the lights in the press cabin of Air Force One flickered off briefly after the aircraft became airborne, though no further explanation was provided at the time.

On landing, Trump was expected to transfer to a second plane and continue his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Introduction: Trump due in Davos today

Good morning from Davos, where Donald Trump is heading for a showdown with fellow world leaders over his designs on Greenland.

The US president has top billing at the World Economic Forum today, scheduled to give a special address in the early afternoon (2.30pm Davos time, 1.30pm GMT or 8.30am EST).

Up until last weekend, Trump was expected to use this speech to outline his affordability agenda, including new policies to lower housing costs.

But the speech is now expected to have a much more international flavour, following Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on European countries who oppose him buying, or even seizing, Greenland.

Last night, Trump claimed again that the US needs Greenland for national security purposes. When asked how far he is willing to go to acquire Greenland, he simply replied “You’ll find out.”

Yesterday, European leaders were bracing for the arrival of the US president today.

France’s Emmanuel Macron warned that the world is facing “a shift toward autocracy against democracy … a shift towards a world without rules where international law is trampled underfoot, where the only law seems to be the strongest and imperial ambitions are resurfacing”.

Canada’s Mark Carney was even blunter, saying the “old order is not coming back” and that the world is “in the midst of a rupture, not a transition”, as great powers flex their muscles.

California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, summed things up best:

“There’s no diplomacy with Donald Trump: he’s a T rex. You mate with him or he devours you.”

We’ll also hear from Trump ally, Argentina’s Javier Milei today, as well as Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and Mohammad Mustafa, Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, plus other big names from business and technology.

The agenda

  • 8am Davos / 7am GMT: Scott Bessent to hold press conference on trade matters

  • 9am Davos /8am GMT: Session: Can Russia Sustain a Wartime Economy?

  • 9.30am Davos / 8.30am GMT: Special Address by Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of Egypt

  • 10.15am Davos / 9.15am GMT: Session: Can Europe Defend Itself?

  • 11.30am Davos / 10.30am GMT: Conversation with Jensen Huang, President and CEO of NVIDIA

  • 1pm Davos / noon GMT: Conversation with Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase

  • 1.30pm Davos / 12.30pm GMT: Conversation with Mohammad Mustafa, Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority

  • 2.30pm Davos / 1.30pm GMT: Special Address by Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America

  • 3.45pm Davos / 2.45pm GMT: Special Address by Javier Milei, President of Argentina

 

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