How Trumps Greenland Plan Could Hit Ozempic, Legos and Hearing Aids

President-elect Donald J.Trump has threatened tariffs on many countries for many different reasons.On Monday, he found a new purpose for his favorite economic tool.

Mr.Trump said he would “tariff Denmark at a very high level” if it refused to allow Greenland — a North American island that is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark — to become part of the United States.“They should give it up, because we need it for national security,” Mr.

Trump said of Greenland.Denmark, which has a smaller population than Texas, is not a huge trading partner for the United States.

The country — a U.S.ally and a NATO member — sent the United States more than $11 billion worth of goods in 2023, just a tiny slice of more than $3 trillion of imports.

The United States, in turn, sends Denmark more than $5 billion in goods, including industrial machinery, computers, aircraft and scientific instruments.But despite its small size, Denmark, which handles Greenland’s foreign and security affairs, is home to some products that are very well-loved in America, goods that could become more expensive if Mr.Trump follows through with heavy tariffs.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a trade data platform, roughly half of Denmark’s recent exports to the United States are packaged medicines, insulin, vaccines and antibiotics.That’s largely because the country is home to Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, the popular weight-loss drugs.The company is so important to the Danish economy — it has recently accounted for half of Denmark’s private sector job growth and all of the country’s economic growth — that some have branded Denmark a “pharmastate.”Novo Nordisk is increasing its U.S.

production to meet the soaring demand for its GLP-1 weight loss products.The company does not specify publicly how much of its products are exported, but it produces drugs in Denmark and the United States for the U.S.

market.A spokesperson...