(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
President Trump insisted earlier this year that the U.S. “needs” Greenland. He mused about territorial acquisition, floated tariffs on NATO allies and even hinted at taking the island by force. But this spring, the U.S. quietly gained access to one of Greenland’s most valuable assets through a much less dramatic mechanism: An American company asked, and Greenland said yes.
Critical Metals Corp., a New York-based mining company, announced this month that it secured approval from Greenland’s government to acquire a controlling stake in the Tanbreez rare-earth project. The deal could help the U.S. develop a supply chain for these critical minerals that is less dependent on China.
Mr. Trump is right that Greenland matters strategically. But his bluster has obscured a basic fact: The U.S. doesn’t need to annex Greenland to benefit from its minerals any more than it needs to conquer Chile for its copper or Australia for its lithium. In market economies, countries gain access to resources through investment, trade and commercial partnerships, not territorial conquest.
Continue reading the entire piece here at The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
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Shawn Regan is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.