Trump: “Europe to face major retaliation if it sells U.S. assets… we hold all the cards”

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would deliver “big retaliation” if European Union (EU) countries sell U.S. Treasuries and other U.S. assets.

In an interview with Fox Business on the 22nd (local time), President Trump said, “If (the EU sells U.S. assets), there’s nothing you can do,” adding, “But if that happens, we will retaliate strongly.” He added, “We hold all the cards.”

Trump’s remarks appear to be aimed at EU sovereign wealth funds. Danish pension fund AkademikerPension recently decided to dispose of its $100 million holdings of U.S. Treasuries by the end of this month, in protest of the U.S. plan to annex Greenland. The Greenland pension fund (SISA) is reportedly reviewing whether to halt investments in U.S. equities.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on the previous day (21st) that he was “not concerned at all” about AkademikerPension’s sale of U.S. Treasuries. Bloomberg reported that “the EU’s strategy to sell U.S. assets could come with multiple difficulties,” noting that “if some large investors, including Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, move to sell, it could affect U.S. capital markets.”

He also mentioned talks over the annexation of Greenland. President Trump said, “In the negotiations, the United States will have ‘total access’ to Greenland,” adding that “the spillover effects of the (Greenland) project are 100 times those of Israel.”