Donald Trump’s long-running push to acquire Greenland has taken an extraordinary new turn, with a US businessman proposing a controversial “sealskin diplomacy” plan to improve relations with the island.

Investor Larry Swets has reportedly sent the White House a 36-page proposal urging Trump to lift the US ban on seal products. The idea is to revive a market for Greenlandic sealskins while signalling greater respect for Inuit traditions and livelihoods.

A seal trade is pitched as a diplomatic breakthrough

Swets said the idea emerged after Greenlanders repeatedly raised the US ban during a business conference in Nuuk. He argues that restoring access to American markets could generate income for remote communities while giving Greenlanders greater control over a traditional industry.

Greenland has also repeatedly pressed the European Union to reconsider its ban on seal products, which has been in place since 2009 and has been criticised for harming indigenous communities.

But animal welfare campaigners strongly oppose the trade. PETA says seals can be killed using clubs, rifles and specialised weapons, while citing research that found evidence of animals remaining responsive after being struck or shot.

Trump’s pressure has already changed the stakes

The proposal comes against a much bigger geopolitical confrontation. Trump has repeatedly threatened to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, prompting strong opposition from Denmark and its European allies.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has insisted NATO is prepared to defend every inch of its territory, while Iceland’s prime minister has declared that “Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland”.

Europe sees opportunity amid the confrontation

Yet Trump’s pressure has also delivered an unexpected boost to Greenland’s diplomatic leverage. According to the report, European investment has increased as allies rally around the island.

That leaves Greenland caught between competing interests: greater economic opportunity, traditional hunting rights and a US president still determined to expand American influence over the strategically important Arctic territory.

A dark new twist emerges in Trump’s Greenland plot

Like many I abhor the barbaric culture of the "seal culls" and absolutely support them being stopped.

I really think that they have nothing to do with the Trump Administration's declared territorial ambitions. I suspect that the "businessman " behind this purely scents a money making opportunity.