The leaders of major Danish companies, including the CEO of Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk, have met with the Danish Prime Minister after being summoned to discuss the country’s ongoing spat with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump over his hopes of buying Greenland.
The head of the Confederation of Danish Business told reporters on Thursday the group was concerned about the rhetoric emanating from the U.S. over the status of Greenland, a self-ruling territory of Denmark with 57,000 people.
Trump says he wants to acquire Greenland from Denmark, claiming the territory is vital for U.S. national security.
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, the CEO of Europe’s most valuable company, Novo Nordisk, was among the bosses in attendance at the meeting. The CEOs of several other Fortune 500 Europe companies were also in the meeting, including those of Lego, Carlsberg, and offshore wind farm group Orsted, Reuters reported.
"We are paying attention to what is happening and of course we are concerned," Lars Sandahl Sorensen, the head of the federation, told reporters after his meeting with Danish premier Mette Frederiksen.
"We're not preparing for specific things we don't know yet, but it has been hinted at from the U.S. side that there may unfortunately be a situation where we work less together than we do today."
A representative for the confederation didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, while a representative for Novo Nordisk declined to comment.
Trump, who is set to be inaugurated on Monday, has set a massive agenda for when he takes office. The future status of Greenland has occupied a sizeable share of his geopolitical comments since winning the presidential election in November.
The territory is the source of rare earth minerals vital in telecommunications, in addition to uranium, though mining is currently outlawed in the territory. As the ice around Greenland melts, it is also set to become a vital strategic shipping route connecting the U.S., Russia, and Europe.
Trump hasn’t ruled out the use of military force to seize control of Greenland, in addition to the Panama Canal. He has also threatened Denmark with tariffs if it didn’t sell Greenland.
Prior to her sitdown with Denmark’s corporate giants, the country’s PM met last week with party leaders to discuss Trump’s comments on Greenland, as his son, Donald Trump Jr., paid a visit to the territory.
On Tuesday, Greenland Prime Minister Mute B. Egede told local media that the territory was ready to cooperate with the U.S.
“We have the doors open in relation to mining,” said Egede. “This will also be the case in the coming years. We have to trade with the U.S.”
Trump’s rumblings will be of major concern to the country’s biggest companies, mostly consumer brands that have developed a strong U.S. customer base.
The U.S. is by far Novo Nordisk’s biggest as well as fastest-growing market, where it has marketed its GLP-1 drugs for weight loss purposes to huge success. In the first nine months of 2024, U.S. sales accounted for more than half of the company’s overall sales.
Its biggest competitor in the obesity market is Eli Lilly, which markets its own GLP-1, Zepbound.
As a member of the EU, Denmark will also be weary of a broader trade war unfolding between the bloc and the U.S., with Trump repeatedly threatening to implement import tariffs on European goods during his presidential election campaign.
