The United States can help secure its strategic future in the Arctic by lifting its import bans on marine mammal poducts like seal pelts and whale meat to support the Arctic’s traditional economies. This could be particularly advantageous to America’s ambitious but troubled diplomatic engagement with Greenland, and to its long but recently strained strategic partnership with Canada. 

As climate change thins the polar ice caps, Greenland has transformed from a remote frozen landmass into the geopolitical center of the North Atlantic. The island commands the vital sea lanes of the GIUK (Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom) Gap, hosts critical American aerospace defense infrastructure at Pituffik Space Base, and sits atop some of the world’s largest untapped reserves of rare earth minerals. Russia continues to militarily harden and refurbish its northern coastline, and China continues to eye he region through its “Polar Silk Road” initiative. In this contested environment, Washington can no longer treat Greenland as a passive strategic outpost.

But true and enduring security in the Arctic requires a deep partnership with the people who live there. To win the long-term trust of Greenlanders, the United States must move beyond military agreements and offer meaningful economic partnership. The most effective way to do this is to open the U.S. market to Greenland’s traditional, sustainable marine products: seal pelts and whale meat.

The Cultural and Economic Reality of Arctic North America

For centuries, the Inuit have relied on the sea for survival. Sealing and whaling were not, strictly speaking, commercial endeavors; they were the foundation of Inuit culture, food security, and local economies. In remote settlements along the vast Arctic coast, alternative economic opportunities were practically nonexistent. Hunting marine mammals provided vital protein and generated local income through the sale of skins and meat.

In Greenland, the management of these resources is highly regulated, scientifically monitored, and strictly sustainable. The government sets conservative quotas based on rigorous environmental assessments to ensure that wildlife populations remain stable and healthy.

Greenlandic hunting methods are deeply rooted in Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), prioritizing respect for the animal and minimizing waste. The same is true across Baffin Bay in the Canadian Arctic.

Despite this sustainable model, the Inuit traditional economy continues to face severe hardship due to sweeping Western trade restrictions.

The Damage of Well-Intentioned Western Bans

For decades, well-meaning but misguided Western environmental campaigns have devastated Arctic communities. The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) imposes a blanket ban on the import of all marine mammal products into the United States. Similarly, the European Union’s bans on seal products have crippled the global market for pelts.

These policies were designed to target large-scale, industrial commercial exploitation. Instead, they caught Indigenous subsistence hunters in the crossfire. By destroying the export market for seal skins, Western nations inadvertently hollowed out the economies of small Arctic villages. This created widespread economic distress and a deep sense of cultural alienation among Inuit, who felt judged and penalized by distant Western capitals.

When Washington approached Nuuk strictly to talk about military radar installations while maintaining laws that effectively criminalize Greenland’s traditional way of life, it created an atmosphere of hypocrisy. This economic and cultural friction left a vulnerability that foreign adversaries are eager to exploit.

Canada’s isolated Arctic communities experienced the very same traumatic and enduring dislocations from the seal ban, and would equally benefit from America’s restoration of markets for marine mammal products.

The Strategic Threat of Adversarial Soft Power

But as the West kept its marine mammal markets closed, America’s competitors kept looking for ways to gain influence in Nuuk. I have long urged America to step up its game in marine mammal diplomacy—the idea being that non -Western actors could exploit Western environmental rigidity to build new alliances with Arctic peoples.

A few years back, China pro-actively and with foresight attempted to finance airport expansions, mining projects, and research stations across Greenland. Beijing presented itself as an economic partner willing to invest without lecturing Greenlanders on their cultural traditions. If the United States and its European allies continue to isolate Greenland economically, Nuuk may eventually find such promises of non-Western investment too lucrative to turn down. Its Arctic Strategy takes a balanced approach to the East-West balance, seeing opportunities from both.

Securing Pituffik Space Base, and keeping Chinese state-owned enterprises away from critical infrastructure, will require more than diplomatic pressure. The U.S. must prove that alignment with the West delivers tangible, everyday economic benefits to ordinary Arctic citizens.

A Framework for a Targeted U.S. Market

Opening the United States to seal and whale imports does not require abandoning America’s core commitment to marine conservation. Instead, Washington can create a strictly regulated, bilateral trade framework tailored specifically to Greenland and Canada.

Amending the MMPA: Congress can introduce a specific, narrow exemption to the Marine Mammal Protection Act for certified, sustainably harvested products originating from Greenland and Canada.

A Certified Origin System: The U.S., Greenland and Canada can co-create a strict certification system. Every seal pelt or unit of meat exported to the U.S. would carry verification proving it was harvested under Greenland’s official, science-based quotas by licensed hunters and Canada’s collaborative co-management systems wedding TEK and western science.

Strict Anti-Commercialization Guards: The exemption would apply exclusively to Greenland’s regulated, small-scale hunters and Canada’s indigenous subsistence hunters. This will prevent the revival of unregulated, large-scale industrial sealing or whaling by other nations.

By taking these steps, the U.S. can create a highly controlled niche market that honors conservation while providing a massive boost to Greenland’s and Canada’s remote coastal communities.

Overcoming the Domestic Political Hurdle

The primary obstacle to this strategy is political friction within the United States. Domestic environmental lobbying groups will likely oppose any modification to marine mammal protections, fearing a slippery slope.

The White House and Congress must counter this pushback with a clear, education-focused narrative. They must explain that supporting Greenland’s and Canada’s sustainable seal and whale hunts is an act of environmental and social justice that aligns with modern indigenous rights frameworks, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Championing Arctic North America’s traditional hunters will allow Washington to correct decades of economic harm caused by broad-brush Western policies.

A Coalition of the Whaling

Furthermore, our national security leaders can frame this policy change as a geopolitical necessity. The long-term strategic cost of losing influence in the Arctic far outweighs the political discomfort of updating domestic conservation laws.

Moreover, by taking the lead on this vital economic front, the United States can forge a powerful new coalition with its traditional maritime (and fellow whaling) allies—Norway, Iceland, and Japan. These nations share a deep-seated cultural understanding of sustainable marine mammal harvesting and possess the existing infrastructure, processing capabilities, and consumer markets necessary to sustain a global trade network. 

Together, under American leadership, this “coalition of the whaling” can dismantle the restrictive trade barriers of the past, outmaneuver our authoritarian rivals, and build an unshakeable, prosperous future that permanently secures the hearts, minds, and northern borders of Greenland.

Winning Hearts, Minds, and Markets

Opening American doors to Greenland’s traditional exports would be a massive diplomatic victory. It would send an undeniable signal to Nuuk and Ottawa that the United States respects the sovereignty, culture, and economic self-determination of its Arctic North American allies.

The economic impact on the U.S. market might be small, but the positive impact on Greenland’s and Canada’s Arctic communities would be transformative. It would revitalize local economies, restore dignity to traditional hunters, and build immense goodwill toward the United States and its whaling partners.

True security in the Arctic cannot be built on military contracts alone. It requires genuine partnership, mutual respect, and shared prosperity. By opening our markets to marine mammal products like seal and whale, the United States can outmaneuver its global rivals, secure its northern flank, and win the enduring loyalty of the people of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic.