US President Donald Trump interacts as he and Poland Carole Noruki (uncomfortable) meet at the White House in Washington, DC, United States, September 3, 2025.
Brian Snyder Reuters
The American administration struck the wealth fund in Norway worth $ 2 trillion, saying it was “very troubled” with the last exit of the American company Catpeberler.
In recent weeks, the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund – the largest of its kind in the world – Its investments have ended in Israel And announced plans for Selling her share From the American machine manufacturer Caterpillar, amid concerns about ties to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
A US State Department spokesman said in an e -mail on Thursday: “We participate directly with the Norwegian government in this regard.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke for the first time Financial times about the Fund’s strategy on Wednesday.
The wealth fund “is not a topic of discussion” in the talks
In a statement via e -mail on Thursday, Finance Minister Norway, Jeans Stoltenberg, confirmed that the government did not participate in identifying the companies that were included in the fund’s portfolio.
He added that the decisions related to the fund were divided between the Ministry of Finance in the country, the Central Bank and the Ethics Council in the fund.
“The government does not participate in the evaluation of individual companies,” he said. “The decision to exclude companies is an independent decision made by Norges Bank, according to the specified framework. It is not a political decision.”
Stalltenberg added that it was part of a Norwegian delegation involved in talks with Trump’s economic advisor, Kevin Haysit, on Tuesday.
“We discussed trade, definitions, economic sanctions against Russia and the support of Ukraine,” he said. “The pension fund was not a topic for discussion.”
Last week, the Department of Norges Bank Investments, or NBIM – which runs the fund on behalf of the Norwegian population – He said that Exiting its share in Caterpillar and five Israeli banks, noting “unacceptable risks that companies contribute to serious violations of the rights of individuals in war and conflict situations.”
At the end of last year, the fund got a 1.2 % stake in the Catpeberler listed in New York.
However, the Fund Ethics Council has recommended the exchange from this holding, as NBIM said at the time that the administration believes that the Katripiller bulldozers “are used by the Israeli authorities to extensively destroy the Palestinian property.”
The Foreign Ministry’s comments this week is not the first time that US officials have launched in NBIM investment decisions.
in A series of posts On the social media platform last week, Trump described the ally and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, the Norwegian wealth fund portfolio as “short -sighted”.
“To the sovereign wealth fund in Norway … … your decision to punish Caterpillar, an American company, because Israel uses its products outside the attack.”
“Maybe it’s time to put a customs tariff for countries that refuse to do business with large American companies. Or maybe we should not give visas to individuals who run organizations trying to punish American companies for geopolitical differences.”
Delivery of the Norwegian Fund from Caterpillar and Israeli banks shortly after NBIM She said that she will sell all her investments In Israeli companies that are not in the stock index, the stock index “as soon as possible.” NBIM has also announced its intention to end contracts with foreign asset managers in Israel.
The CEO of NBIM, Trund Grande, told CNBC after the initial announcement that the fund’s property of Israeli companies was increasingly audited during the summer, like The conflict intensifies in the West Bank.
“Because of the conflict and because of the opinion here in Norway, I must say that there is a lot of scrutiny about our property specifically in Israeli companies,” he said.
“What we do now is not really, I will not put it in this way, but we are trying to simplify our wallet in Israeli stocks, because we have moral guidelines.”
The Sovereign Resources Fund in Norway, which is currently 20 trillion Norwegian Crohnir ($ 1.98 trillion), was invested in 61 Israeli shares at the end of June.
It now holds only six Israeli shares, according to its website.
– Jenny Reed of CNBC contributed to this article.
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