Trump Threatens EU With Tariffs Over ‘Hostile’ Canada Association Plan

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose heavy tariffs on the European Union or halt trade with the bloc if Brussels moves ahead with a proposal to make Canada its first-ever associate member.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen raised the idea a day before Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was due to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The proposal comes as Canada and the European Union seek to strengthen ties amid escalating tensions with the United States under Trump.

“I think it’s laughable,” Trump told reporters when asked about the plan.

“If they do that, if I think it’s at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe, on many things,” he said.

Trump added that if the move was made with “good intention,” he would have no objection, but warned that if he viewed it as hostile, “we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe.”

EU Seeks Closer Ties With Canada

Von der Leyen proposed deeper cooperation with Canada in technology, defence and energy, as Carney became the first non-European head of government to attend the EU’s annual “State of the European Union” address.

She told the European Parliament that democracies were facing a “fracture in the international rules-based system” and called for closer ties between Brussels and Ottawa.

“I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU,” von der Leyen told Carney, drawing a standing ovation.

She said the EU wanted to move beyond a relationship centred on trade toward a broader “alliance for the future.”

“We will work on intelligent manufacturing. We will create a tech alliance. We will integrate defense industrial bases. We will make the Arctic a flagship joint project,” she said.

Other areas identified for cooperation included energy, critical minerals, batteries, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and economic security.

“This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength,” von der Leyen said.

Canada Deepens European Engagement

Carney has been pursuing closer relations with the European Union as Canada faces escalating trade tensions with its largest trading partner, the United States.

His visit to Strasbourg is intended to build momentum ahead of an EU-Canada summit scheduled to take place in Montreal next month.

“In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada is forging stronger relationships with trusted partners,” Carney’s office said.

The EU and Canada are already closely linked economically through the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which has eliminated almost all tariffs between them. Trade in goods and services has increased by more than 80% since 2016, according to the figures cited by EU officials.

Canada also became the first non-EU country to join an EU defence loan programme this year.

Uncertainty Over ‘Associate Membership’

The proposed “associate membership” would represent a new form of relationship for the EU, although the bloc’s treaties do not explicitly provide for such a status.

The concept was previously floated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this year in relation to Ukraine.

Under that proposal, an associate member could attend EU summits, have a representative in the European Commission and receive access to parts of the EU budget, while not receiving full voting rights.

“We don’t really know yet what it means,” Tobias Cremer, a centre-left German European lawmaker and sponsor of a resolution calling for stronger EU-Canada ties, said after von der Leyen’s proposal.

Any formal partnership with a non-EU country would require approval from the bloc’s member states, leaving the level of support for the Canadian proposal uncertain.

Trump-EU Tensions

Trump’s latest warning adds another layer to already strained US-EU trade relations. His administration has repeatedly used tariffs as a tool in negotiations with major trading partners.

The EU’s push for closer relations with Canada also reflects efforts by Brussels and Ottawa to diversify economic and strategic partnerships amid trade tensions with Washington and growing competition from China.

Carney later travelled to Britain, where he met newly appointed UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The two attended an Everton-Wolverhampton football match before Carney returned to Strasbourg for his European Parliament address.