Trump threatens EU over 'hostile' Canada association plan

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to cut trade with the European Union after the bloc proposed making Canada its first associate member. Ursula von der Leyen said the EU and Canada should move toward a broader alliance on tech, defense and energy, while Mark Carney is due to address the European Parliament on Thursday. The proposal comes as both Canada and the EU seek closer ties amid tensions with the United States.

Trump said he could impose very serious tariffs on Europe or stop trading with Europe if he views the Canada plan as a hostile act.

Von der Leyen said she wanted to open the door for Canada to become the first associate member of the EU.

Carney was the first non-European head of government to attend the annual State of the European Union speech, and his visit is meant to help prepare for an EU-Canada summit in Montreal next month.

Published Sep 17, 2026 7:56 am KST

Updated Sep 17, 2026 8:53 am KST

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press as he arrives at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Sept. 16, while he travels to attend a campaign rally supporting Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Reuters-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to cut trade with the European Union after the bloc proposed to make Canada its first ever associate member.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen raised the prospect a day before Canadian leader Mark Carney was due to address the European Parliament.

Her pitch comes as both Canada and the European Union seek to pivot away from an aggressive United States under Trump's leadership.

"I think it's laughable," Trump told reporters when asked about the plan.

"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." 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, which is a possibility."

Von der Leyen pitched closer cooperation on tech, defense and energy to Carney, who became the first non-European head of government to attend the annual "State of the European Union" speech.

The German told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that, as democracies face a "fracture in the international rules-based system," Brussels and Ottawa needed to pull closer together.

"I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU," von der Leyen told the Canadian premier, drawing a standing ovation in the chamber.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney left, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participate in a bilateral meetingat the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Sept. 16, in this photo provided by The Canadian Press. AP-Yonhap

Carney has been pursuing closer ties with the European Union as Canada gets drawn ever deeper into a trade war with the United States.

He is set to address the parliament on Thursday, with his visit meant to act as a catalyst ahead of an EU-Canada summit in Montreal next month.

Von der Leyen said 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 defense 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.

But both the EU and Canada have been buffeted by tariffs and territorial threats from the US and competition from China.

"In a more dangerous and divided world, Canada is forging stronger relationships with trusted partners," Carney's office said in a statement.

While EU treaties do not envision the possibility of becoming an "associate member," the idea was first floated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz this year for Ukraine.

Under that plan, which met a cold reception from a country pushing for full membership, Ukraine would have been allowed to attend the bloc's summits and have a representative in the European Commission.

It would have also benefited from parts of the EU budget, but without full voting rights.

"We don't really know yet what it means," said Tobias Cremer, a center-left European lawmaker from Germany and the main sponsor of a resolution urging stronger EU-Canada cooperation, after von der Leyen's "associate membership" pitch.

Under EU rules, member states have to approve any form of partnership with a third country and it was unclear how much support von der Leyen's proposal would receive from capitals.

Brussels and Ottawa already enjoy a considerable level of cooperation.

The CETA free-trade agreement that abolished almost all tariffs has been credited with boosting trade in goods and services by more than 80 percent since 2016.

And this year Canada became the first non-EU country to join a flagship defense loan programme.

Carney later flew to Britain for his first meeting with new U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

They attended a football match between Everton and Wolverhampton together before Carney's return to Strasbourg for his Thursday speech.

美国总统特朗普周三威胁称，欧盟将削减与加拿大的贸易，此前欧盟提议接纳加拿大为首个准成员国。欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩表示，欧盟和加拿大应在科技、国防和能源领域建立更广泛的联盟。欧盟委员会主席马克·卡尼将于周四在欧洲议会发表讲话。这项提议出台之际，正值加拿大和欧盟在与美国关系紧张的情况下寻求加强联系。

特朗普表示，如果他认为加拿大提出的方案是敌对行为，他可能会对欧洲征收非常严重的关税，或者停止与欧洲的贸易。

冯德莱恩表示，她希望为加拿大成为欧盟第一个准成员国打开大门。

卡尼是首位出席欧盟年度国情咨文演讲的非欧洲国家元首，他的访问旨在为下个月在蒙特利尔举行的欧盟-加拿大峰会做准备。

发布于2026年9月17日 上午7:56（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月17日上午8:53（韩国标准时间）

9月16日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普抵达夏洛特道格拉斯国际机场，随后向媒体发表讲话。他此行的目的是前往北卡罗来纳州夏洛特，参加一场支持共和党参议员候选人迈克尔·沃特利的竞选集会。（路透社-韩联社）

华盛顿——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周三威胁要削减与欧盟的贸易，此前欧盟提议接纳加拿大为欧盟首个准成员国。

欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩在加拿大领导人马克·卡尼即将向欧洲议会发表讲话的前一天提出了这一前景。

在她提出这一主张之际，加拿大和欧盟都在寻求摆脱特朗普领导下咄咄逼人的美国。

“我觉得这很可笑，”特朗普在被问及该计划时告诉记者。

“如果他们真的这么做，如果我认为这是一种敌对行为，我会对很多商品征收非常高的关税，甚至停止与欧洲的贸易。” 他补充道：“如果他们的出发点是好的，那没问题。但如果他们的出发点是坏的，我们会对欧洲征收非常高的关税，这并非不可能。”

冯德莱恩向卡尼提议在科技、国防和能源领域加强合作，卡尼成为首位出席年度“欧盟国情咨文”演讲的非欧洲国家元首。

这位德国人在斯特拉斯堡向欧洲议会表示，由于民主国家面临“基于规则的国际体系的分裂”，布鲁塞尔和渥太华需要更加紧密地团结在一起。

“我愿与您合作，为加拿大成为欧盟第一个准成员国打开大门，”冯德莱恩对加拿大总理说道，此言一出，议会全体起立鼓掌。

加拿大总理马克·卡尼（左）和欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩于9月16日在法国斯特拉斯堡的欧洲议会举行双边会晤。这张照片由加拿大通讯社提供。美联社-韩联社

随着加拿大与美国的贸易战愈演愈烈，卡尼一直在寻求与欧盟建立更紧密的联系。

他将于周四在议会发表讲话，此次访问旨在为下个月在蒙特利尔举行的欧盟-加拿大峰会起到推动作用。

冯德莱恩表示，现在是时候从基于贸易的合作转向更广泛的“面向未来的联盟”，并将“与加拿大的关系提升到尽可能高的高度”。

我们将致力于智能制造。我们将创建一个技术联盟。

“我们将整合国防工业基地，并将北极打造成为一个旗舰联合项目。”她说道。

她列举了能源、关键矿产、电池、人工智能、网络安全和经济安全等其他合作领域。

“这是一种不与任何人对抗的伙伴关系，而是为了我们共同的力量，”她说。

但欧盟和加拿大都受到了来自美国的关税和领土威胁以及来自中国的竞争的冲击。

卡尼办公室在一份声明中表示：“在一个更加危险和分裂的世界里，加拿大正在与值得信赖的伙伴建立更牢固的关系。”

虽然欧盟条约没有设想成为“联系成员国”的可能性，但德国总理弗里德里希·默茨今年首次为乌克兰提出了这个想法。

根据该计划（该计划遭到了力争成为正式成员国的乌克兰的冷遇），乌克兰将被允许参加欧盟峰会并在欧盟委员会中拥有一名代表。

它还可以受益于欧盟预算的一部分，但没有完整的投票权。

在冯德莱恩提出“准成员国”方案后，来自德国的中左翼欧洲议员托比亚斯·克雷默表示：“我们还不真正知道这意味着什么。”克雷默是敦促加强欧盟与加拿大合作的决议的主要发起人。

根据欧盟规定，与第三国建立任何形式的伙伴关系都必须得到成员国的批准，目前尚不清楚冯德莱恩的提议会得到各国首都多少支持。

布鲁塞尔和渥太华之间已经建立了相当程度的合作关系。

自 2016 年以来，取消几乎所有关税的 CETA 自由贸易协定被认为已使货物和服务贸易增长了 80% 以上。

今年，加拿大成为第一个加入旗舰国防贷款计划的非欧盟国家。

卡尼随后飞往英国，与英国新任首相安迪·伯纳姆举行了首次会晤。

在卡尼返回斯特拉斯堡发表周四演讲之前，他们一起观看了埃弗顿和狼队之间的足球比赛。