Donald Trump is set to address the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, after plunging the transatlantic alliance into its biggest crisis in decades through his pursuit of Greenland.
But the US president’s arrival in Switzerland could be delayed after his Air Force One plane had to return to Washington due to what the White House called “a minor electrical issue”.
The decision to turn back was taken out of an abundance of caution, the White House said.
Before setting off, Trump on Tuesday said “there can be no going back” on his plan to seize Greenland from Denmark.
European governments have held off retaliating against Trump’s threat to impose 10 per cent tariffs on eight European states that recently sent military personnel to the Arctic territory, but the spectre of a trade war has hung over this week’s meeting in Davos.
On Tuesday French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU has been put in the “crazy” situation of having to consider using its most potent trade weapon against the US, the so-called anti-coercion instrument.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country needed “to stand firm”, while European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that Brussels would respond in an “unflinching” way to US pressure.