US seeks Denmark's help to deal with its egg crisis despite Trump's Greenland takeover dream

While US President Donald Trump has been repeatedly expressing his ambition to take over Greenland, reports are emerging that the United States is seeking help from Denmark and other European nations to export eggs. The request is coming at a time when egg prices are surging in the country after Trump imposed high tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese imports.

The Danish Egg Association on Friday said that the request came from the US Department of Agriculture, Reuters reported. It is pertinent to note that Trump has threatened to impose economic sanctions on Denmark as well unless the country hands over the control of Greenland to the United States. He eventually proposed the idea of annexing the island, drawing ire from the Danes. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, a member of the European Union.

US wholesale egg prices are sky rocketting due to the factors including the outbreak of bird flu and Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on the country’s top three biggest trading partners. During his first day in the office the American president had promised to lower egg prices. However, the cost of eggs increased by 59 per cent on a year-on-year basis in February, the first full month of his administration.

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A letter obtained by Reuters showed that a representative of the US Department of Agriculture in Europe had sent formal inquiries to egg-producing countries in late February. The department was reportedly seeking information on their ability and willingness to export eggs to the American markets.

Europe does not have ’eggs to spare'

The Danish Egg Association said it would look into the request but noted that there was no surplus of eggs in Europe. “There is a shortage of eggs everywhere on a global scale because consumption is increasing and many are affected by bird flu,” the association said.

“We’re still waiting to get more guidance from Washington on the next steps, but do you have an estimate of the number of eggs that could be supplied to the United States (assuming they meet all the import requirements),” a follow-up letter to the Danish Egg Association in early March said.

“Washington is trying to get an estimate of the amount they could feasibly source,” said the letter, received last week. A spokesperson said that the association had requested more details on the conditions of such an agreement, adding that the egg exports to the US were challenging due to regulations related to hygiene and other factors.

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Last month, Turkey announced that it had started exporting about 15,000 tonnes of eggs to the US. The same month, US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the plan to seek imported eggs as part of a $1bn effort to combat bird flu.

With inputs from Reuters.