Trump Offers to Buy Used Icebreaker From Finland's President

 

President Donald Trump told a press conference that he is so eager to buy Finnish icebreakers that he has already made an offer to Finland's president. 

"I actually made him an offer. I didn't go to Congress. They'll try and impeach me for this," Trump said. "There's a . . . used icebreaker, and I offered him about one-third of what he asked for. But we're negotiating, we need icebreakers."

The president also complimented Finnish President Alexander Stubb's golf game, as well as the high quality of Finnish-built commercial icebreakers. Finland is a longtime leader in the field, thanks to experience with Baltic Sea ice-ups, and Trump said that he is interested in buying as many as 15 Finnish hulls - a previously undisclosed number.  

No comparable purchase offer has been publicly extended to American shipbuilders. The U.S. Coast Guard - the only U.S. operator of icebreaking tonnage - has put out a nonfinancial request for information for commercial icebreaker options, but has not discussed such a large series acquisition. 

Trump made a similar but less detailed announcement in late March, shortly after playing golf with Stubb at Trump International Gulf Course in Florida. At the time, he said that icebreakers were "badly needed" and that the U.S. would be working with Finland on a deal.