Trump set to dominate Davos as he rocks global order
DAVOS
A woman walks past the 'USA House' during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 19, 2026. The World Economic Forum takes place in Davos from January 19 to January 23, 2026. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP)
Donald Trump is set to dominate the week at the gathering of global elites in Davos, as the U.S. president dangles tariff threats in a bid to pressure the EU over Greenland.
A U.S. delegation is already on the ground to promote an American agenda that has unsettled the global order cherished by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Trump will deliver a speech on Wednesday and participate in other events Thursday.
Europe is weighing countermeasures after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries over the Greenland standoff.
Trump said on Jan. 17 that he would charge a 10 percent import tax starting in February on goods from eight European nations because of their opposition to American control of Greenland.
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff, Trump said. The rate would climb to 25 percent on June 1 if no deal was in place for “the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the United States, he wrote on social media.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the U.S. contingent in Davos, warned that EU retaliation "would be very unwise."
Von der Leyen met with a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation in Davos on Jan. 19 and said on social media that she had "addressed the need to unequivocally respect the sovereignty of Greenland and of the Kingdom of Denmark."
While Macron will leave without seeing Trump in Davos, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would seek to meet the U.S. president at the forum today.
Merz said Germany and other European countries agreed "that we want to avoid any escalation in this dispute if at all possible."
Leaders from the 27-nation bloc will hold an emergency summit in Brussels on Jan. 22 to discuss their response to one of the gravest crises in years to hit transatlantic ties.
At a news conference in Davos, Finland's President Alexander Stubb said "tariff threats at the allied level are unacceptable. They weaken our transatlantic relationship and, in the worst case, can lead to a vicious cycle."
When asked if the United States might use force, Stubb said: "I don't believe that the United States will take control of Greenland militarily."
Denmark has proposed that NATO start surveillance operations in Greenland to confront security concerns.
Other flashpoints on the WEF agenda include the crises in Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine and Iran.
The United States has sent an unusually large delegation to Davos, in a sign that it wants to make its presence felt at the gathering for global economic and political leaders.
Bessent and other U.S. officials will attend panels at the forum's congress centre but also at the "USA House", a venue inside an old church on the glitzy promenade of the mountain retreat.