LONDON, October 10. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump may increase trade tariffs on Norway if the Norwegian Nobel Committee does not award him the Peace Prize, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Norway should prepare for possible measures from the US, given that Trump, who has openly spoken of his desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize, "has a long record of punishing those who upset him." The article noted that the US leader, in particular, may call on other countries to refuse to purchase Norwegian gas or oil or to limit official contacts with Oslo.
Previously, Trump's associates had threatened to impose visa restrictions on Norway after the country's sovereign wealth fund announced plans to sell its stake in Caterpillar, a leading global manufacturer of construction equipment, due to the company's bulldozers and other machinery being used by Israeli authorities to demolish Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, The Daily Telegraph, based on conversations with former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said Trump had little chance of winning the prize. The US president's competitors include the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the World Health Organization, the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Nobel Week began in Stockholm on October 6. The winner of the Peace Prize will be announced in Oslo on October 10.