Business Iceland hosted an online foreign policy briefing this morning with Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttír. The Minister’s comments focused on defense, security and international trade issues.
Þorgerður Katrín highlighted the “two pillars” of Icelandic defense and security policy: 1) Iceland’s commitment to NATO, and 2) the Bilateral Defense Agreement (BDA) with the United States. The Minister emphasized that Iceland has been cooperating the United States on defense since 1951. Iceland is also committed to working closely with the United States on emerging security issues in the Arctic, given the country’s strategic location in the North Atlantic. Þorgerður Katrín also pointed to the signing in October 2025 of a Letter of Intent for Bilateral Defense Cooperation with Germany, as well as a commitment to an increase in Iceland’s defense-related spending, as evidence of her country’s broader commitment to defense and security issues. In a Q&A session at the end of the presentation, Þorgerður Katrín stated Iceland is open to working with private partners to strengthen defense and security in the Arctic.
Addressing foreign trade policy, the Minister reiterated Iceland’s commitment to free and open markets. The Icelandic Government strongly supports multilateral free trade agreements and has 38 such free trade agreements in place.
North American trade partners are still important to Iceland, with the United States still among its most important partners. Þorgerður Katrín said the U.S. has most recently shown a trade surplus with Iceland, with high-end computers and data center technology and infrastructure being important American imports to Iceland in recent years. In turn, Iceland has exported prosthetics, pharmaceutical products, sustainably resourced seafood and mineral water to the United States. The Minister said Iceland was disappointed with the 15-percent general tariff imposed on Iceland by the United States but emphasized the need for continued dialog to create a stable bilateral trade relationship going forward.
I thought the Minister’s briefing was quite positive, in particular with the positive words about continued trade with North America. My impression is that Iceland will continue its longstanding trade partnership with the United States, while at the same time encouraging expanded trade and business opportunities for Canadian companies in Iceland.
Thanks to Audbjorg Halldorsdottir, Iceland’s Ambassador to Canada, for the welcome and introduction, Einar Tómasson of Business Iceland facilitating the Q&A, and Svanhildur Hólm Valsdóttir, Iceland’s Ambassador to the United States, for her concluding remarks.
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