Trump Threatens EU With Tariffs Over Offer of Associate Membership to Canada

US President Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with what he called "serious tariffs" after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed inviting Canada to become the bloc's first "associate member," according to the Guardian.

Von der Leyen told the European Parliament that democracies were facing a "fracture in the international rules-based system" and that Brussels and Ottawa needed to strengthen ties. "This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength," she said, as quoted by the Guardian.

The proposal was made ahead of a scheduled address to the European Parliament on Thursday by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, according to the report.

France's Europe minister, Benjamin Haddad, responded to Trump's tariff threat by saying Washington had no authority over EU decision-making. "It is not up to the United States, or anyone else, to choose the political and geopolitical direction of the Europeans," Haddad told the Public Sénat TV channel, according to the Guardian.

The report did not specify further details of Trump's tariff threat, including potential scope or timing, nor did it clarify the precise terms of the proposed EU-Canada associate membership arrangement.

Carney's address to the European Parliament was ongoing at the time of the report, with the Guardian noting it was providing live coverage of the developments.