Trump threatens EU with tariffs over Canada membership proposal

United States President Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with severe trade penalties if the bloc moves forward with its proposal to make Canada its first-ever associate member.

The warning comes as Canada seeks to strengthen ties beyond North America and reduce dependence on American trade.

Trump told reporters the plan was "laughable", adding: "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."

The threat follows European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen's invitation to Canadian prime minister Mark Carney to become an associate member of the EU.

Von der Leyen pitched the idea at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, outlining cooperation on technology, defence and energy to strengthen ties between the two democracies.

"This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength," von der Leyen told the chamber, drawing a standing ovation. She outlined plans for a tech alliance, integrated defence industrial bases, joint Arctic projects, and cooperation on artificial intelligence and cyber security.

Carney is due to address the European Parliament on Thursday. He has been pursuing closer ties with the EU as Canada faces a broadening trade dispute with the United States under Trump's leadership.

An EU-Canada summit is scheduled for Montreal next month.

France's Europe minister Benjamin Haddad rejected Trump's intervention. "It is not up to the United States, or anyone else, to choose the political and geopolitical direction of the Europeans," Haddad told Public Sénat television on Thursday. "Once again, we have a relationship with Canada, and we are fully entitled to seek to deepen it."

The EU has never before created an associate membership category, though it maintains deep economic integration with Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.

An associate status would need approval from all 27 member states, but uncertainty remains over what the arrangement would entail for Canada's relationship with the EU single market.

Canada and the EU already operate a free-trade agreement, the CETA deal, which has boosted trade in goods and services by more than 80% since 2016. Last year, Canada became the first non-EU country to join the bloc's flagship defence loan programme.