Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that a potential Greenland deal discussed between President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte would go beyond longstanding arrangements and be more favorable to the United States.
"I promise you, the deal is not what we had before. It is much more fulsome for the United States," Bessent told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
Trump announced framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland after meeting with Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
The president has recently eased his posture after weeks of suggesting he could use force to obtain Greenland and walked back earlier talk of imposing tariffs on European countries that opposed his takeover efforts.
Major details of any agreement remain unclear, including questions around control and ownership of territory.
Bessent also addressed Trump's threat to impose 100% tariffs on Canada if it moves ahead with a trade deal with China.
This month, Canada negotiated lower tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for lower import taxes on Canadian farm products, according to reports.
"We can't let Canada become an opening that the Chinese pour their cheap goods into the U.S.," Bessent said, pointing to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
He said the USMCA is expected to be renegotiated this summer and criticized Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, saying he was "trying to virtue-signal to his globalist friends at Davos" rather than doing "the best job for the Canadian people."
Pressed on friction with NATO allies, Karl asked whether Bessent understood why European partners might be insulted by Trump's criticism of NATO contributions in Afghanistan.
Bessent said Trump is focused on building "the strongest NATO possible" and said the United States has made larger sacrifices than European countries while Trump works toward a settlement in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Bessent cited U.S. tariffs on India for buying Russian oil and said Europeans recently signed a trade deal with India, adding that refined products derived from Russian oil are sold to Europe.
Karl also asked Bessent about the death of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis man who was shot by federal law enforcement on Saturday.
Bessent called it "a tragedy when anyone dies," but blamed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for escalating tensions and said the situation was being "stirred up" by the governor.
Bessent said Walz declined to provide him with a state police security detail during a visit two weeks ago and said he believes paid agitators are inflaming unrest.
He also claimed the man who was killed brought a 9mm semiautomatic weapon and ammunition to what was supposed to be a peaceful protest.
Walz has said the state has taken steps to investigate fraud and continues working to combat it, saying earlier this month that Minnesota "will win the fight against the fraudsters" while criticizing what he called political gamesmanship that makes the effort harder.
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