Trump threatens heavy EU tariffs or selective trade cutoff over Canada associate membership plan

  • President Donald Trump threatened tariffs or trade restrictions over Canada's proposed EU associate membership.
  • Ursula von der Leyen proposed Canada as the European Union's first associate member.
  • EU member states and Canada have not confirmed support for the undefined proposal.

President Donald Trump threatened serious tariffs on European Union goods or trade restrictions if the bloc pursues making Canada its first associate member and he judges the move hostile. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen raised the proposal during her annual State of the Union address, attended by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, as Brussels seeks deeper cooperation with allies on trade, defense, technology, energy and Arctic issues. The European Commission said the initiative is intended to strengthen the EU-Canada partnership, not target another country. Its legal and political form remains unsettled because EU treaties contain no associate-membership category, member states must approve any plan, and diplomats said the proposal had not been discussed with governments. Canada is seeking closer European ties as it diversifies from the U.S. market amid bilateral trade tensions, but neither Ottawa nor EU member states have confirmed support for the proposal.

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