Novo Nordisk CEO, Others to Discuss Trump Tariff Threats With Danish Prime Minister
(Bloomberg) -- Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen met with business leaders including the head of Novo Nordisk A/S to discuss potential measures by the incoming Trump administration amid escalating tensions over Greenland.
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The one-hour gathering of some of Denmark’s largest companies and several government ministers in Copenhagen on Thursday came after President-elect Donald Trump in recent weeks reiterated his ambition to take control of Greenland, a self-ruling territory of the kingdom. Last week, Trump threatened tariffs on the Nordic nation if it doesn’t give up the territory.
“I think everyone can see that these are unusual messages,” Denmark’s Business Minister Morten Bodskov said at a briefing following the meeting. “We are of course preparing for whatever may come, and we’re of course discussing this with Danish businesses.” He didn’t go into further detail on what such preparations involve, nor what scenarios are being prepared for.
The situation is “serious,” Frederiksen told media earlier on Thursday following an emergency meeting in the parliament’s foreign policy committee. She said the Danish government is working with companies and business organizations to prepare for a potential situation with the US, “where we would work less together than we do today in the economic field.”
Trump confirmed his interest in acquiring Greenland during a 45-minute phone call with Frederiksen on Wednesday. He did not withdraw his threat of tariffs, Frederiksen said.
Novo Chief Executive Officer Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen attended the meeting, a company spokesperson confirmed. The US is the biggest market for the pharmaceutical giant, which produces the weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes medicine Ozempic.
Executives from Carlsberg A/S, DSV A/S, Pandora A/S, Orsted A/S and industry bodies representing companies in Denmark were also scheduled to take part, according to local media.
“Of course we’re worried,” Lars Sandahl Sorensen, CEO of the Confederation of Danish Industries, said after the meeting. “And of course we are preparing for all possible scenarios, including the scenarios we don’t like to think about.”
(Updates with comments from business minister in third paragraph, Confederation of Danish Industries in eighth)
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