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U.S.-Danish Relations

Denmark and the United States have long enjoyed a close and mutually beneficial relationship. Denmark and the United States consult closely on European and other regional political and security matters and cooperate extensively to promote peace and stability well beyond Europe's borders. Denmark largely shares U.S. views on the positive ramifications of NATO enlargement. Danish troops support ISAF-led stabilization efforts in Afghanistan. President George W. Bush made an official working visit to Copenhagen in July 2005, and Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen also met with President Bush at Camp David in June 2006 and in Crawford, Texas in March 2008. President Barack Obama met with Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen on October 2, 2009 in Copenhagen.

Denmark's active liberal trade policy in the EU, OECD, and WTO largely coincides with U.S. interests. There are differences of opinion between the U.S. and the EU on how to manage and resolve the global crisis, but not on the importance of action. The U.S. is Denmark's largest non-European trade partner with about 4.4% of Danish merchandise trade. Denmark's role in European environmental and agricultural issues and its strategic location at the entrance to the Baltic Sea have made Copenhagen a center for U.S. agencies and the private sector dealing with the Nordic/Baltic region.

American culture--and particularly popular culture, from jazz, rock, and rap to television shows and literature--is very popular in Denmark. More than 300,000 U.S. tourists visit Denmark annually.

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) base and early warning radar facility at Thule, in northwest Greenland, serves as a vital link in Western and NATO defenses. In August 2004, the Danish and Greenland Home Rule governments signed agreements allowing for an upgrade of the Thule early warning radar in connection with a role in the U.S. ballistic missile defense system. The same agreements also created new opportunities for both sides to enhance economic, technical, and environmental cooperation between the United States and Greenland.