Trump called the EU’s proposed Canada associate membership “laughable” and threatened “very heavy tariffs”.
The European Commission said the proposed partnership with Canada was not directed against the United States.
EU diplomats questioned the proposal’s meaning and said member states had not been consulted.
US President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on the European Union and a possible halt to trade in some areas if the bloc moves ahead with a plan to make Canada its first associate member, warning that he could regard the move as a “hostile act”.
The threat came a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed making Canada the EU's first associate member during her annual State of the Union address. The proposal has not yet been fleshed out and would need approval from EU member states before it could proceed.
According to Reuters, Trump made the comments while travelling to an event in North Carolina, where he described the proposal as “laughable” and said his response would depend on whether he viewed it as hostile.
“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.
“If it's a good intention, that's fine. If it's a bad intention, we'll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” he added.
EU Rejects Trump’s Characterisation
The European Commission said the proposed arrangement with Canada was not directed against the United States.
“As our President (von der Leyen) made clear yesterday, the proposed strengthening of our partnership with Canada is not against anyone else, but for our common strength,” said Olof Gill, a European Commission spokesperson.
France's Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad said the United States had no power to veto the EU's geopolitical choices.
“It is not up to the United States — or anyone else — to choose the political and geopolitical direction of the Europeans,” he told Public Senat TV.
Von der Leyen made the proposal in a speech attended by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. She argued for stronger cooperation among allies in what she called “an openly hostile world”.
Reuters reported that the EU faces the risk of war on its borders due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while both the bloc and Canada have grappled with trade tensions with the United States and an increasingly assertive China. The bloc and Canada are also dealing with an increasingly assertive China.
Canada Seeks Closer EU Ties
Carney is due to address the European Parliament at 11:30 (0930 GMT) on Thursday.
Earlier this month, the Canadian prime minister said he was seeking a “unique alliance” with the EU as relations between Ottawa and Washington have deteriorated since Trump's return to the White House. The tensions have led to tariffs affecting tens of billions of dollars in cross-border trade.
It remains uncertain whether the associate membership proposal would receive the backing of EU member states or whether Canada would agree to the arrangement.
EU Diplomats Raise Questions
The proposal has also prompted questions within the EU over its meaning and the lack of consultation with member states.
One EU diplomat expressed surprise on Wednesday, saying “nobody really knows what it means”. The diplomat also raised concerns that the European Commission chief “is overpromising and won't be able to deliver.”
The EU has historically been reluctant to pursue flexible alliances that lack a formal legal status.
Another European diplomat described the proposal on Thursday as an “unfortunate proposal, which has never been discussed with Member States.”
A third European diplomat said Trump's response reflected his view of international relations more than the substance of von der Leyen's proposal.
“If this is described as a hostile act, it suggests that partnerships are a zero-sum game where closer cooperation with one means loss of sovereign choice for another,” the diplomat said. “And it also hints that the U.S. sees Canada as part of its sphere of influence rather than an independent actor.”
Another European diplomat added: “It’s a good thing that we learned in the meantime to not take every statement of President Trump seriously.”
