Trump rolls out his Board of Peace at the Davos forum, but many top US allies aren't participating

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday inaugurated his Board of Peace to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas, insisting that “everyone wants to be a part” of the body he said could eventually rival the United Nations — despite many U.S. allies opting not to participate.

In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump sought to create momentum for a project to map out a future of the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been overshadowed this week, first by his threats to seize Greenland, then by a dramatic retreat from that push.

“This isn’t the United States, this is for the world,” he said, adding, “I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.”

The event featured Ali Shaath, the head of a new, future technocratic government in Gaza, announcing that the Rafah border crossing will open in both directions next week. But there was no confirmation of that from Israel, which said only that it would consider the matter next week.

The Gaza side of the crossing, which runs between Gaza and Egypt, is currently under Israeli military control. Shaath, an engineer and former Palestinian Authority official from Gaza, is overseeing the Palestinian committee set to govern the territory under U.S. supervision.

The new peace board was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the ceasefire, but it has morphed into something far more ambitious — and skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some countries usually closest to Washington to take a pass.

Trump tried not to let those not participating ruin his unveiling party, saying 59 countries had signed onto the board — even though heads of state, top diplomats and other officials from only 19 countries plus the U.S. actually attended the event. He told the group, ranging from Azerbaijan to Paraguay to Hungary, “You’re the most powerful people in the world."

Trump has spoken about the board replacing some U.N. functions and perhaps even making that entire body obsolete one day. But he was more conciliatory in his remarks on the sidelines of the forum in the Swiss alps.

“We’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations,” Trump said, even as he denigrated the U.N. for doing what he said wasn't enough to calm some conflicts around the globe.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said some countries’ leaders have indicated they plan to join but still require approval from their parliaments.

Big questions remain, however, about what the eventual board will look like.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country is still consulting with Moscow’s “strategic partners” before deciding to commit. The Russian was hosting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday in Moscow.

Others are asking why Putin and other authoritarian leaders had even been invited to join. Britain’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said her country wasn't signing on “because this is about a legal treaty that raises much broader issues.”

“And we do also have concerns about President Putin being part of something which is talking about peace, when we have still not seen any signs from Putin that there will be a commitment to peace in Ukraine,” she told the BBC.

Norway and Sweden have indicated they won’t participate. France declined after its officials stressed that while they support the Gaza peace plan, they were concerned the board could seek to replace the U.N.

Canada, Ukraine, China and the executive arm of the European Union also haven't committed. Trump calling off the steep tariffs he threatened over Greenland could ease some allies' reluctance, but the issue is still far from settled.

The Kremlin said Thursday that Putin plans to discuss his proposal to send $1 billion to the Board of Peace and use it for humanitarian purposes during his talks with Abbas — if Russia can use of those assets the U.S. had previously blocked.

The idea for the Board of Peace was first laid out in Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan and even was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council.

But an Arab diplomat in a European capital said that Middle Eastern governments coordinated their response to Trump's invitation to join the Board of Peace and that it was crafted to limit the acceptance to the Gaza plan as mandated by the U.N. Security Council.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter more freely, the diplomat said the announced acceptance is “preliminary” and that the charter presented by the U.S. administration contradicts in some parts the United Nations' mission. The diplomat also said that other major powers are unlikely to support the board in its current form.

Months into the ceasefire, Gaza’s more than 2 million Palestinians continue to suffer the humanitarian crisis unleashed by more than two years of war. And violence in Gaza continues.

Key to the truce continuing to hold is the disarming of Hamas, something that the militant group that has controlled the Palestinian territory since 2007 has refused to do, despite Israel seeing it as non-negotiable. Trump on Thursday repeated his frequent warnings that the group will have to disarm or face dire consequences.

He also said the war in Gaza “is really coming to an end” while conceding, “We have little fires that we'll put out. But they're little,” and they had been “giant, giant, massive fires.”

Trump's push for peace also comes after he threatened military action this month against Iran as it carried out a violent crackdown against some of the largest street protests in years, killing thousands of people.

Trump, for the time being, has signaled he won't carry out any new strikes on Iran after he said he received assurances that the Islamic government would not carry out the planned hangings of more than 800 protesters.

But Trump also made the case that his tough approach to Tehran — including strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in June last year — was critical to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal coalescing.

Trump also spoke behind closed doors for about an hour with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and called the discussion “very good” without mentioning major breakthroughs. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected in Moscow for talks aimed at ending Russia's nearly 4-year-old war in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy later addressed the Davos forum and said there would be two days of trilateral meetings involving the U.S., Ukraine and Russia in the United Arab Emirates starting Friday — following the U.S. talks in Moscow.

“Russians have to be ready for compromises because, you know, everybody has to be ready, not only Ukraine, and this is important for us,” Zelenskyy said.

Madhani and Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a speech at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

US President Donald Trump leaves after a signing ceremony of his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Journalist ask questions to President Donald Trump, right, as he walks up a stairwell during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, arrives for the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives for a meeting on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump, right, greets leaders as he arrives for a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump, center, holds up a signed Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump holds the charter during a signing ceremony on his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

President Donald Trump speaks after the signing of a Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump holds the charter during a signing ceremony on his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

President Trump stands on the podium at the beginning a session on the Board of Peace initiative of US President Donald Trump at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

President Donald Trump arrives for a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

From right, Ayman Al Safadi, Deputy PM of of Jordan, Prabowo Subinato, President of Indonesia, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov, Ilham Aliyev, President Donald Trump President of Azerbaijan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia and Javier Milei, President of Argentina pose during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump gestures after his special address during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is rising again Thursday and regaining more of its losses for the week following the latest walkback by President Donald Trump from tariffs he had earlier threatened.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% and added to its big gain from Wednesday, when Trump said he had reached “the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland” and called off 10% tariffs on European countries that he said opposed his having the Arctic island. The index has recovered most of the losses it took after Trump shook financial markets with his initial tariff threat.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 408 points, or 0.8%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.

It’s the latest example of Trump making a big, initial threat, only to pull back after seeing how much pain it created in financial markets. The pattern has led to the “TACO” acronym, suggesting that “Trump Always Chickens Out” if markets react strongly enough. Tuesday’s drop for the U.S. stock market was the worst since October and large enough that Trump, who often takes credit when Wall Street is doing well, acknowledged “the dip.”

But the pattern has also led to deals for Trump that outsiders may have initially considered unlikely if not for his extreme initial threat.

Details are still sparse about the framework of a deal on Greenland that Trump said he reached with the head of NATO. And it is not a signed deal yet.

Financial markets were still showing some signals of nervousness on Thursday. Gold’s price swiveled between small losses and gains before turning 0.9% higher. Its price often rises when investors are looking for something safer to own. The value of the U.S. dollar also slipped against the euro and several other foreign currencies, though the slide wasn't as sharp as earlier in the week when global investors bailed out of several U.S. markets.

Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market following encouraging reports on the U.S. economy’s strength. One said that fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected in a potential signal that the pace of layoffs remains low. A second suggested the U.S. economy grew at a faster rate during the summer than the government initially estimated.

A third said that inflation in November was close to economists' expectations, while spending by U.S. consumers was a touch better than expected.

They helped the yield on the 10-year Treasury remain at 4.26%, where it was late Wednesday.

On Wall Street, Northern Trust climbed 5.6% after reporting a stronger profit for the end of 2025 than analysts expected. CEO Michael O’Grady also said that the financial services company is entering 2026 with “strong momentum across all our businesses.”

Procter & Gamble added 2.7% after likewise delivering a better profit than analysts expected. Revenue for the company behind the Downy, Pantene and Tide brands, though, fell just shy of expectations amid what CEO Shailesh Jejurikar called a “challenging consumer and geopolitical environment.”

Another winner was Generac, which sells power generators. It rose 3.8% as forecasters warned a potentially catastrophic ice storm may hit a large swath of the United States.

They helped offset a 7.5% drop for spice seller McCormick & Co., whose profit fell short of expectations. CEO Brendan Foley said it continues to face rising costs because of “a shifting global trade environment.”

Shares of BitGo, a company that helps crypto businesses and traditional financial firms hold and manage digital assets, are set to begin trading later in the day on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time. The company priced its stock at $18 per share in its initial public offering, above its earlier estimated range of $15 to $17.

In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed across Europe and Asia amid relief on Trump’s walkback of tariffs.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.7%, and France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.2% for two of the world’s bigger gains.

Global markets also got support from a continuing easing of long-term yields in Japan’s bond market. They had spiked early in the week on worries that Japan’s popular prime minister could make moves that would add heavily to the government’s already big debt.

But the 40-year Japanese government bond yield has eased since hitting a record and dropped back below 4% on Thursday after hitting 4.22% on Tuesday.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed.

Trader Drew Cohen,; left, and Specialist Patrick King work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Vincent Napolitano works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Edward Curran works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Options traders Anthony Spina, second left, and Brian Garvey, right, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Anthony Matesic, left, and trader Edward Curran work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Daniel Krieger is framed by his computer monitors as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Meric Greenbaum works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, as a television shows President Donald Trump speaking at the World Economic Forum, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Michale Smyth works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as President Donald Trump speaks at the World Economic Forum, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders celebrate as they work in the office with a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), center, of over 5,000 points at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders celebrate as they work in the office with a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), center, of over 5,000 points at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders celebrate as they work in the office with a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), center top, of over 5,000 points at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)