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Agence France-Presse

US President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to cut trade with the European Union after the bloc proposed to make Canada its first-ever associate member.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen raised the prospect a day before Canadian leader Mark Carney addressed the European Parliament.
Her pitch comes as both Canada and the EU seek to pivot away from an aggressive US under Trump’s leadership.
“I think it’s laughable,” Trump told reporters when asked about the plan. “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.”
He added: “If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe, which is a possibility.”
Von der Leyen pitched closer cooperation on tech, defence and energy to Carney, who became the first non-European head of government to attend the annual “State of the European Union” speech.

The German told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that, as democracies face a “fracture in the international rules-based system”, Brussels and Ottawa needed to pull closer together.
“I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU,” von der Leyen told the Canadian leader, drawing a standing ovation in the chamber.
Carney has been pursuing closer ties with the EU as Canada gets drawn ever deeper into a trade war with the US.
He addressed the parliament on Thursday, with his visit meant to act as a catalyst ahead of an EU-Canada summit in Montreal next month.
“Canadians are united that nobody is going to tell us what language we speak, no one is going to dictate our culture, or with whom we can strike agreements internationally,” Carney said.
Von der Leyen said it was time to move from cooperation based on trade to a broader “alliance for the future” and “bring the relationship with Canada to the highest level possible”.
“We will work on intelligent manufacturing. We will create a tech alliance. We will integrate defence industrial bases. We will make the Arctic a flagship joint project,” she said.
She listed energy, critical minerals, batteries, AI, cyber and economic security as other fields of cooperation.
“This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength,” she said.

But both the EU and Canada have been buffeted by tariffs and territorial threats from the US and competition from China.
“In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada is forging stronger relationships with trusted partners,” Carney’s office said in a statement.
While EU treaties do not envision the possibility of becoming an “associate member”, the idea was first floated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this year for Ukraine.
Under that plan, which met a cold reception from a country pushing for full membership, Ukraine would have been allowed to attend the bloc’s summits and have a representative in the European Commission.
It would have also benefited from parts of the EU budget, but without full voting rights.
“We don’t really know yet what it means,” said Tobias Cremer, a centre-left European lawmaker from Germany and the main sponsor of a resolution urging stronger EU-Canada cooperation, after von der Leyen’s “associate membership” pitch.
Under EU rules, member states have to approve any form of partnership with a third country and it was unclear how much support von der Leyen’s proposal would receive from capitals.
Brussels and Ottawa already enjoy a considerable level of cooperation.

The CETA free-trade agreement that abolished almost all tariffs has been credited with boosting trade in goods and services by more than 80 per cent since 2016.
And this year, Canada became the first non-EU country to join a flagship defence loan programme.
Seeking to further diversify its defence ties away from the United States, Canada has also formally applied to join the British-led Joint Expeditionary Force military coalition, Carney’s office said on Wednesday.
The force, a rapid response military partnership of 10 Nato member states, comprises Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
The announcement followed a bilateral meeting in northern England between Carney and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The two leaders discussed opportunities for defence industrial cooperation through the Global Combat Air Programme, an advanced fighter jet project that Canada joined as an observer in July.
The bilateral talks were held ahead of an Everton football match in Liverpool, which both leaders attended together before Carney returned to Strasbourg for his Thursday address to the European Parliament.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Trump threatens EU over ‘hostile’ proposal to make Canada associate member

US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday. Photo: European Union via AFP

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney departing Strasbourg, France, for Liverpool in England. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney alongside Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham at a match between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

As EU cosies up to Canada, Burnham’s Brexit Britain feels sidelined

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at a meeting in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham looks at a car on the production line during a visit to the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Carney sells Canada to global investors but says US ties still key

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to the members of the media on the day of the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

US President Donald Trump (right) meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office in October 2025. Photo: TNS

Former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper speaks during the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto on Tuesday. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

Carney explores EU ‘associate member’ status for Canada as US ties fray

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney. Photo: Reuters

US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters

Ex-Canada PM Jean Chretien tells US: ‘never mistake our generosity for weakness’

Former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien speaks at the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US in Gander, Newfoundland, on Friday. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

People look at a memorial during a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in Gander, Newfoundland, on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Doris MacDougall, a visitor from Vancouver, views the 9/11 Community Mosaic Mural in the foyer of the Gander International Airport on Friday. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra and his wife, Diane, pose in front of a “Come From Away” quilt, handmade by local women, as they arrive at Gander International Airport on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

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US president warns of severe trade action as Ursula von der Leyen pitches historic partnership to Mark Carney


US president warns of severe trade action as Ursula von der Leyen pitches historic partnership to Mark Carney.


Trump threatens EU over ‘hostile’ proposal to make Canada associate member

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US president warns of severe trade action as Ursula von der Leyen pitches historic partnership to Mark Carney

US president warns of severe trade action as Ursula von der Leyen pitches historic partnership to Mark Carney