Denmark has decided not to send government representatives to the World Economic Forum’s 2026 annual meeting in Davos, the forum confirmed to Bloomberg, a rare diplomatic snub tied to a wider dispute over Greenland that is straining relations across the Atlantic.
The decision follows an unprecedented move by U.S. President Donald Trump, who on January 17 announced tariffs on imports from eight European countries — including Denmark — and tied the levies to his demand that the United States be allowed to purchase Greenland. Trump said the tariff would rise from 10% on February 1 to 25% on June 1 unless an agreement was reached on a “full, thorough purchase” of the island; European capitals issued a joint statement the next day condemning the measures as damaging to transatlantic ties.
Greenland sits at the centre of this dispute because of its strategic location in the Arctic, its natural resources and the presence of allied military infrastructure. Though Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, any suggestion of transferring sovereignty or ownership has long been politically explosive — rekindling sensitivities about self-determination and international leverage over a vulnerable Arctic polity.
The absence of Danish officials from Davos is largely symbolic but still consequential. The World Economic Forum functions as an informal hub where governments, business leaders and international organisations co-ordinate on policy, trade and security; Denmark’s withdrawal signals that transatlantic trust is fraying and makes the forum a theater for diplomatic contestation rather than quiet diplomacy.
Economically, the threatened tariffs — and the broad set of countries they target — create the potential for disruptive reciprocal measures and commercial uncertainty. Politically, the episode risks weakening NATO cohesion by turning alliance relationships into transactional bargaining chips, and it complicates EU deliberations over a collective response that balances principle with the need to preserve critical security partnerships.
For now the situation looks set to remain tense. Danish officials have not publicly responded to the Bloomberg report, and much will depend on whether Brussels, London and other capitals can marshal a united diplomatic or economic reply, or whether the matter will be further inflamed by domestic U.S. politics. Davos in the coming days will be an early test of whether multilateral forums can contain the dispute or simply amplify the diplomatic rupture.