Donald Trump left open the possibility of imposing tariffs on countries that do not accept his plan for the annexation of Greenland.

“I may impose tariffs on countries that don’t agree about Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security reasons,” the U.S. president emphasized, without providing further details.

Earlier, in a statement, the German Ministry of Defense said that the deployment of a reconnaissance team from European NATO member states to Greenland was ordered due to “Russian and Chinese threats” in the Arctic.

“Germany, in cooperation with other NATO partners, will send a reconnaissance team to Greenland. The goal is to assess the means needed to ensure security against Russian and Chinese threats in the Arctic,” the ministry said.

This military mission by several European countries, led by Denmark, was announced as Trump seeks for the United States to take control of Greenland, despite opposition from the island itself—which is an autonomous territory of Denmark—as well as from Copenhagen and other European countries.

Washington’s main argument is that the issue concerns national security in the face of Russian and Chinese ambitions in the Arctic.