Μake us preferred on Google U.S. President Donald Trump threatened the European Union with new tariffs and possible trade restrictions on Thursday if the bloc proceeds with a proposal to strengthen its relationship with Canada.
Trump was responding to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plan to make Canada the EU’s first associate member. The proposal, unveiled during her annual State of the Union address on Wednesday, would still require approval from EU member states.
“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,” Trump told reporters while traveling to an event in North Carolina.
He described the proposal as “laughable” and said the United States would impose “very heavy tariffs” on European goods if he concluded that the move was made with bad intentions.
EU Says Canada Plan Is Not Hostile
The European Commission rejected the characterization of the proposal as an unfriendly move against the United States.
As reported on Reuters, Olof Gill, a European Commission spokesperson, said the proposed closer partnership with Canada was intended to strengthen cooperation rather than target another country.
“As our President made clear yesterday, the proposed strengthening of our partnership with Canada is not against anyone else, but for our common strength,” Gill said.
France’s Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad also pushed back against Trump’s warning, saying Washington does not have the authority to determine the EU’s political direction.
“It is not up to the United States — or anyone else — to choose the political and geopolitical direction of the Europeans,” Haddad told Public Senat TV.
Von der Leyen presented the proposal as the EU seeks stronger ties with allies in what she described as “an openly hostile world.” The bloc is facing the risk of war on its borders because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while both the EU and Canada have also faced trade tensions with the United States and a more assertive China.
Canada Seeks Closer EU Ties
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to address the European Parliament on Thursday at 9:30 GMT.
Earlier this month, Carney said he was seeking a “unique alliance” with the EU as relations between Canada and the United States have deteriorated since Trump returned to the White House. The tensions have resulted in tariffs affecting tens of billions of dollars in cross-border trade.
It remains unclear whether EU member states would support associate membership or whether Canada itself would agree to the proposal.
The idea has also drawn uncertainty within the EU. One diplomat said Wednesday that “nobody really knows what it means,” while raising concerns that von der Leyen could be promising more than the bloc can deliver. The diplomat also noted that the EU has historically resisted flexible alliances without a legal status.
Another European diplomat described the proposal on Thursday as “unfortunate,” saying it had never been discussed with member states.
A third diplomat said Trump’s reaction reflected his broader view of international relations more than the specifics of von der Leyen’s plan. The diplomat said describing closer EU-Canada cooperation as hostile suggested that partnerships were being viewed as a zero-sum choice.
Another European diplomat said the EU had learned not to take every statement from Trump seriously.
