Trump threatens to stop trading with EU over ‘laughable’ membership offer to Canada

Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with “serious tariffs” and a cut to trade after the bloc proposed to make Canada its first ever associate member, calling the idea “laughable”.

Suggesting the move was a “hostile act”, the US president told reporters he could put “very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe”. 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.”

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member” on Wednesday, a day before Canadian prime minister Mark Carney was due to address the European parliament.

Von der Leyen pitched closer cooperation on tech, defence and energy to Carney, telling the European parliament that, as democracies face a “fracture in the international rules-based system”, Brussels and Ottawa needed to pull closer together.

Canada and the EU already have a trade deal and numerous bilateral agreements, but have been moving closer since Donald Trump returned to the White House and raised tariffs on both old allies, while repeatedly talking about Canada becoming the 51st US state and lambasting the EU.

In a sign that Canada was seeking to further diversify its defence ties ⁠away from ⁠the ​United States, Carney’s office announced on Wednesday that the country had formally applied to join the British-led Joint Expeditionary Force military ⁠coalition.

The force is ​a rapid response ‌military partnership comprised of 10 North Atlantic Nato member states, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

On Wednesday, Carney and British prime minister Andy Burnham held a bilateral meeting at the grounds of Everton football club. The leaders, who are both fans of the premiership club, then attended the team’s game against Wolves.

The two discussed deepening defence cooperation and the opportunities and ⁠challenges presented by ⁠artificial ​intelligence. Downing Street said both prime ministers emphasised the importance ​of building close ties with European partners, particularly on trade and defence.

The 27-member EU has never had an associate membership category, although it has close ties with Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, allowing deep economic integration with these countries, who follow many EU rules. However it remains to be seen what associate membership means, including for Canada’s relationship with the EU single market.

Von der Leyen said on Wednesday 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.