Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to take action against the European Union if it moves forward with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's proposal to make Canada the bloc's first associate member.
"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," Trump told reporters en route to an event in North Carolina on Wednesday (September 16), calling the proposal "laughable."
The European Commission said von der Leyen's proposal — which is yet to be fleshed out and will need to be approved by EU member states to go forward — was not a hostile act.
Von der Leyen made the proposal on Wednesday (September 16) during her annual State of the Union speech, attended by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, as she sought to deepen ties among allies in what she called "an openly hostile world."
The EU faces the risk of war on its borders due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while both the bloc and Canada have grappled with trade tensions with the United States and an increasingly assertive China.
Carney is due to address the European Parliament at 11:30 (0930 GMT) on Thursday (September 17).
