U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to take action against the European Union if it moves forward with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal to make Canada the bloc’s first associate member.
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Trump told reporters while traveling to an event in North Carolina that he could impose “very serious tariffs” or halt trade with Europe in several areas if he considered the move a hostile act. He described the proposal as “laughable.”
“If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” Trump said.
France’s Minister for Europe, Benjamin Haddad, said the United States had no right to determine the European Union’s political or geopolitical direction.
“It is not up to the United States, or anyone else, to choose the political and geopolitical direction of the Europeans,” Haddad said in an interview with Public Sénat on Thursday.
Von der Leyen put forward the proposal on Wednesday during her annual State of the Union address, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in attendance. She presented closer ties with Canada as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation among allies amid what she described as an increasingly hostile global environment.
The proposal comes as the EU faces security concerns linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine, while both the bloc and Canada are dealing with trade tensions with the United States and growing competition from China.
Earlier this month, Carney said he was seeking a “unique alliance” with the EU. Relations between Ottawa and Washington have deteriorated since Trump returned to the White House, with tariffs imposed on tens of billions of dollars in cross-border trade.
Canada already has a comprehensive trade agreement with the EU, but the bloc has historically resisted flexible alliances that lack a clearly defined legal status. The proposed associate membership would represent a new form of institutional relationship, although its precise legal framework has yet to be established.
A European Union diplomat expressed surprise at the proposal, saying that “nobody really knows what it means,” while raising concerns that the European Commission may be promising more than it can deliver.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney subsequently welcomed the proposal, saying closer ties with Europe could strengthen Canada’s economic and strategic resilience.
