United States President Donald Trump has threatened to impose “very serious tariffs” on the European Union, or restrict trade with the bloc, if a proposal to make Canada the EU’s first “associate member” is pursued in a manner he considers hostile to the United States.
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Trump made the remarks after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed opening discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on a new form of relationship that could make Canada the first country to hold an “associate member” status with the EU.
Speaking to reporters, Trump described the proposal as “laughable” and said the US response would depend on what he viewed as the intention behind the arrangement.
“If I think it’s at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe,” Trump said, adding that if the proposal was made with “good intention,” he would view it differently.
The proposal was unveiled by von der Leyen during her State of the European Union address in Strasbourg, where Carney was present as a guest.
Von der Leyen said the EU and Canada should deepen cooperation beyond their existing trade relationship and work together in areas including advanced manufacturing, technology, defence, energy, critical minerals, batteries, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity and economic security.
She stressed that the proposed arrangement was “not a partnership against anyone else,” but one intended to strengthen the EU and Canada through closer cooperation.
“I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU,” she told the European Parliament.
However, “associate member” is not currently a recognised category of EU membership. Reuters reported that creating such a status would be unprecedented and could require extensive negotiations, political agreement among member states and potentially changes to the EU’s legal framework.
Canada has also stopped short of saying it has formally agreed to such a status.
Canada’s ambassador to the EU, Jonathan Wilkinson, said discussions were continuing over how to describe the increasingly close relationship but cautioned that the parties were “not there” yet on associate membership. He said Canada was more focused on obtaining concrete results from specific initiatives, with further announcements expected around an EU-Canada summit in October.
Carney has separately spoken of building a “unique alliance” with Europe as Canada seeks to diversify its international trade, defence and economic relationships. Reuters reported that his government wants to expand non-US trade and strengthen cooperation with European partners in areas including defence, digital security and strategic industries.
The proposal comes against the backdrop of heightened trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa.
US-Canada trade negotiations broke down in August, after which Washington imposed additional tariffs on several Canadian sectors and goods. Canada responded with retaliatory duties on American products. Both governments blamed the other for the failure to reach a deal.
The deteriorating relationship has encouraged Canada to seek closer economic and security partnerships elsewhere. Canada has also formally applied to join the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, a European military coalition, as part of a broader effort to strengthen defence relationships with European allies.
Trump has repeatedly criticised Canada over trade and has referred on several occasions to the possibility of Canada becoming the “51st state” of the United States. Carney’s government has rejected that prospect and has instead sought to broaden Canada’s economic partnerships.
The European Commission, meanwhile, has maintained that its proposed closer relationship with Canada is not directed against Washington.
Von der Leyen said Canada and Europe share positions on issues ranging from Ukraine and defence to energy, critical minerals, technology and democratic governance, and argued that both sides should be free to decide with whom they deepen their partnerships.
For now, the idea remains a proposal rather than an agreed membership arrangement. Canada and the EU are continuing talks on specific trade, security, technology and defence initiatives, while the meaning and legal structure of any future “associate member” status have yet to be defined.
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