BRUSSELS, Sept 17 – U.S. President Donald Trump has warned the European Union that it could face heavy tariffs or restrictions on trade with the United States if the bloc moves ahead with a proposal to give Canada a new form of associate membership.
Trump made the comments Thursday while traveling to an event in North Carolina, describing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal as “laughable” and saying Washington would respond if the initiative were viewed as hostile.
The proposal, announced by von der Leyen during her annual State of the Union speech on Wednesday, would seek to establish a closer political and economic relationship between Canada and the European Union. It would still require approval from EU member states, and the details of what associate membership would actually involve have not yet been worked out.
“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.
He said the response would depend on the intention behind the European initiative.
“If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” Trump added.
The comments introduced another point of tension between Washington and Brussels at a time when trade relations have already been strained by U.S. tariffs and disputes over economic policy.
The European Commission rejected the idea that closer ties between Canada and the EU were directed against the United States.
Olof Gill, a spokesperson for the European Commission, said von der Leyen had presented the proposal as an effort to strengthen cooperation among partners rather than as a move targeting 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.
The proposal also comes as Canada and the EU look to deepen relations amid wider changes in the international environment. Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to pose security concerns for European countries, while Canada and the EU have both faced growing trade and strategic tensions involving the United States and China.
France says Washington cannot dictate Europe’s geopolitical choices
Trump’s warning quickly drew a response in Europe, with France saying the United States does not have the authority to determine the EU’s political or geopolitical relationships.
Benjamin Haddad, France’s minister for Europe, said Washington could not exercise a veto over decisions made by European countries.
“It is not up to the United States, or anyone else, to choose the political and geopolitical direction of the Europeans,” Haddad told Public Sénat television.
Von der Leyen presented the Canada proposal as part of a broader effort to strengthen partnerships among countries that share common interests. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was present in the European Parliament for the speech when the European Commission president outlined the idea.
The proposal would represent an unusual arrangement for the EU because associate membership, as described by von der Leyen, would not necessarily mean that Canada becomes a full member of the bloc.
The exact legal and institutional structure remains unclear. EU member governments would have to consider and approve the proposal before it could move forward, while Canada would also need to decide whether such an arrangement suited its interests.
That uncertainty has already produced questions inside the EU.
One European diplomat expressed surprise after von der Leyen’s announcement, saying there was still little understanding of what associate membership would mean in practice. The diplomat also raised concerns that the European Commission president could be promising more than the member states are prepared to support.
Another European diplomat described the proposal as an “unfortunate proposal” that had not previously been discussed with EU member governments.
The reactions highlight a potentially difficult path for the initiative. While von der Leyen can propose new forms of cooperation, major changes involving the EU’s relationship with an outside country require the support of member states.
The EU has traditionally operated through formal legal and institutional arrangements, making a flexible political partnership of this kind an unusual proposition.
Trump’s response has added another complication. European officials now have to consider the potential economic consequences of a dispute with Washington at the same time as they debate the merits and structure of a closer relationship with Ottawa.
Carney prepares to address European Parliament
Carney’s visit to Brussels comes as Canada seeks a closer relationship with Europe following a deterioration in ties with Washington.
Earlier this month, the Canadian prime minister said he was pursuing what he described as a “unique alliance” with the European Union. His government’s efforts come after the Trump administration imposed tariffs affecting tens of billions of dollars in trade between the United States and Canada.
Carney is scheduled to address the European Parliament at 11:30 a.m. local time on Thursday.
His speech is expected to take place against the backdrop of the debate over von der Leyen’s proposal and the latest warning from Trump.
It remains uncertain whether Canada’s government would ultimately support an associate membership arrangement. There is also no guarantee that EU member states would agree to advance the proposal in its current form.
The debate therefore involves several separate questions, including how much institutional access Canada would receive, what obligations it would take on, and whether the arrangement could be established without creating new divisions among EU governments.
European diplomats have also offered differing interpretations of Trump’s reaction.
One diplomat argued that describing the proposal as a hostile act could reflect a view of international relations in which closer cooperation between two partners is seen as coming at the expense of another country. The diplomat also questioned whether Washington views Canada as an independent country with the freedom to establish partnerships of its own.
Another European diplomat took a more dismissive view of Trump’s comments, suggesting that European governments have become accustomed to his frequently changing public statements.
For now, however, the immediate issue is not whether Canada will become an associate member of the EU, but whether the proposal can gain sufficient support to move into a formal negotiating process.
The European Commission has yet to provide a detailed framework, EU governments have not approved the idea, and Canada’s position remains unsettled.
Trump’s threat of additional tariffs has nevertheless raised the stakes before those questions can be resolved. The dispute places Canada, the EU and the United States in a complicated position, with economic ties, security concerns and competing geopolitical partnerships increasingly overlapping.