President Donald Trump said Wednesday that granting Canada associate membership in the European Union might amount to a "hostile act," and dismissed the idea as "laughable," calling Canada a "terrible trade partner," The Wall Street Journal reported.
The remark followed a push from the EU's top official to make Canada the bloc's first associate member. Speaking before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seated beside her, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe needed closer ties with like-minded democracies and named Canada specifically.
Asked about the possibility while in North Carolina ahead of a rally, Trump laid out his position in blunt terms. "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 said. "So, if they do that, if Europe does that, with a bad intention – if it's a good intention, that's fine – if it's a bad intention, we'll put very heavy tariffs on Europe."
The New York Times also noted what Trump told reporters that day: "If Europe does that, with a bad intention – if it's a good intention, that's fine – if it's bad intention we'll put very heavy tariffs on Europe, which is a possibility."
Von der Leyen, addressing the parliament hours earlier, framed the overture differently. "We must urgently reimagine our partnerships," she told lawmakers and pointed to potential cooperation in manufacturing, technology, defense, energy policy and economic security, insisting the plan was not "a partnership against anyone else," but rather "for our common strength."
Ties between Washington and Ottawa, longtime allies and trading partners, have soured markedly in recent weeks. Trump has signed orders banning imports of numerous Canadian dairy products, alcoholic beverages and motorcycles, retaliation for Canadian tariffs that took effect, the WSJ reported. He has also adjusted existing 50% tariffs on Canada, lifting levies on cement, road salt and certain hospital products while imposing fresh 50% duties on items including some all-terrain vehicles, boats and cheeses.
A trade agreement between the two countries nearly came together in late August before talks collapsed at the final stage. Trump later signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario, which sits along the US-Canada border, as "Lake America."
The WSJ separately reported that Canadian and European officials had been discussing associate membership as a new category of relationship with the bloc, short of full accession, which officials on both sides have said remains off the table.
Carney's office confirmed Wednesday that Canada had formally applied to join the Joint Expeditionary Force, a British-led military coalition made up of 10 NATO members, seven of which also belong to the EU, The New York Times reported. European officials said that ahead of von der Leyen's speech, the bloc had sought to avoid framing the Canada partnership as an anti American move.
