Bessent calls Denmark ‘irrelevant,’ shrugs off Treasury sell-off amid

Bessent calls Denmark ‘irrelevant,’ shrugs off Treasury sell-off amid

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Denmark “irrelevant” Wednesday as he shrugged off issues about a US Treasury sell-off following President Trump’s heightened threats to annex Greenland. 

The “sell America” impact shook global markets Tuesday in the first day of buying and selling after Trump announced new 10% tariffs – set to take impact Feb. 1 and later bounce to 25% – on a number of European allies against his efforts to take over Greenland. The levies would come on top of the US’ baseline 15% tariff on most European items.

Stocks nosedived, bond costs tumbled and Treasury yields jumped as traders panicked over heated geopolitical tensions and a possible retreat among European traders in US authorities bonds.

“Denmark’s investment in US Treasury bonds, like Denmark itself, is irrelevant,” Bessent told reporters during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday called Denmark “irrelevant” as he shrugged off issues about a US Treasury sell-off. AP

“That is less than $100 million. They’ve been selling Treasurys for years, I’m not concerned at all,” he added.

“This notion that Europeans would be selling US assets came from a single analyst at Deutsche Bank,” Bessent said, including that it was amplified by “the fake news media.” 

The Jan. 18 be aware from George Saravelos, Deutsche’s global head of FX research, acknowledged that the “US has one key weakness: it relies on others to pay its bills via large external deficits.”

European nations owned roughly $8 trillion of US bonds and equities, according to the be aware.

“In an environment where the geoeconomic stability of the western alliance is being disrupted existentially, it is not clear why Europeans would be as willing to play this part,” Saravelos wrote.

Bessent claimed the CEO of Deutsche Bank called him to distance the financial institution from the be aware, saying he “does not stand by that analyst report.”

Trump has zeroed in on Greenland because of its strategic location between North America and the Arctic, which makes it the good spot for overseeing transport routes and army assaults.  AP

Deutsche Bank didn’t instantly reply to The Post’s request for remark.

A spokesperson for the financial institution told a number of shops that the company doesn’t sometimes touch upon “potential communication between the bank and government representatives.”

Bessent blamed the larger Treasury yields on a Japanese bond sell-off that came about Tuesday afternoon and “spilled over to other markets.” That sell-off was reportedly fueled by fears of fiscal overreach from the Japanese authorities.

Bessent claimed the US has seen “record foreign investment” in its Treasurys.

Here’s the latest on Trump’s negotiations with Greenland

Trump says he has zeroed in on Greenland because of its strategic location between North America and the Arctic, which he argues makes it the good spot for overseeing transport routes and army assaults. 

The president contends the US must take over the island for national safety issues, repeatedly hinting at potential threats from Russia and China.

“We are asking our allies to understand that Greenland needs to be part of the United States,” Bessent said Wednesday.

Greenlanders have pushed again onerous, marching in protests in pink caps that read “Make America Go Away,” a mocking tackleTrump’s MAGA slogan. Politicians in Greenland have also spoken out against the concept.

Greenlanders have pushed again onerous, marching in protests in pink caps that read “Make America Go Away.” MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/EPA/Shutterstock

The last time the US purchased land from Denmark was the sale of the US Virgin Islands — including the one that would develop into late financier and intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous “Epstein Island.”

Bessent said the 1917 sale of the US Virgin Islands confirmed the US “understood” the islands’ significance.

“President Trump has made it clear that we will not outsource our national security or our hemispheric security to any other countries,” Bessent said. “Our associate, the UK, is letting us down with the base on Diego Garcia, which we had shared together for many, many years, and they need to flip it over to Mauritius. So, President Trump is severe right here.

“Just as I said after ‘Liberation Day’ last year, I would tell everyone, ‘Take a deep breath, do not have this reflexive anger that we’ve seen, and this bitterness.’ Why don’t they sit down and wait for President Trump to get here and listen to his argument, because I think they are going to be persuaded.”

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