“Denmark’s investment in U.S. Treasury bonds, like Denmark itself, is irrelevant,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters at Davos on Wednesday.
The “sell America” trade was in full swing Tuesday after President Donald Trump and European leaders escalated tensions over Greenland. U.S. stocks and bond prices tumbled, sending yields spiking.
It comes as Trump’s threats to impose 10% tariffs on eight European countries as part of his push to take over Greenland spooked markets. The levies would come into force on Feb. 1, Trump said, and later rise to 25%.
Europe’s holdings in U.S. treasuries, however, have been tipped as a potential countermeasure.
Danish pension operator AkademikerPension said Tuesday it was selling $100 million in U.S. Treasurys. The decision was driven by “poor [U.S.] government finances,” said Anders Schelde, AkademikerPension’s investing chief.
When Bessent was asked how concerned he is about European investors pulling out of treasuries, Bessent said at a press conference at the World Economic Forum: “Denmark’s investment in U.S. Treasury bonds, like Denmark itself, is irrelevant.”
“That is less than $100 million. They’ve been selling Treasuries for years, I’m not concerned at all.”
Bessent added that the U.S. has had “record foreign investment” in its Treasurys.
He suggested that the Japanese bond sell-off following the announcement of a snap election in the island state, has “spilled over to other markets.”
The “notion that Europeans would be selling U.S. assets came from a single analyst at Deutsche Bank,” Bessent said, which was then amplified by “the fake news media.”
“The CEO of Deutsche Bank called to say that Deutsche Bank does not stand by that analyst report,” he added. CNBC has reached out to Deutsche Bank for comment.
The U.S. has deemed Greenland a national security concern as the Arctic warms and new trade routes emerge, opening the floor for a potential power play between the U.S., Russia and China. The Trump Administration has said it wants to avoid that conflict.
“We are asking our allies to understand that Greenland needs to be part of the United States,” Bessent told reporters.
He added that U.S. bought the U.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark during the First World War because they “understood” the islands’ importance.