Trump threatens tariffs over EU-Canada talks
Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that Canada’s potential associate membership in the European Union could be treated as a “hostile act,” prompting retaliatory tariffs on Europe, hours after he signed an order to exclude Canadian goods from federal procurement contracts.
The threat came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she wants to bring the Canada relationship “to the highest level possible” and offered to open the door for Canada to become the bloc’s first associate member. The remarks followed a meeting in Strasbourg, where Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rose and shook von der Leyen’s hand as EU lawmakers applauded.
Trump’s warning was blunt. “If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” he told reporters, dismissing the idea of associate membership as “laughable.” He also called Canada a “terrible trade partner.”
The procurement order carries immediate economic weight. The White House directive requires U.S. federal agencies to remove Canadian-origin products from purchasing schedules, affecting over $50 billion in annual spending. The move follows Trump’s earlier Truth Social post in which he said Canada’s “Buy Canadian” procurement rules amounted to a “Canadian Trade Scam.” “The Canadian Government, including Canadian Provinces, have banned American Small Businesses and Companies from selling into their Government Procurement Markets,” Trump wrote. “That is not reciprocity, it is a Canadian Trade Scam.”
Canada’s government has pushed back. Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s ambassador designate to the EU, told reporters Ottawa is “not there” yet on the associate-member framing, saying details of a new relationship remain “in flux.” A readout from the Prime Minister’s Office on the Carney-von der Leyen meeting made no mention of associate-member status but referenced a “far stronger, more ambitious alliance.”
Read Also: Advisors Struggle With Rising College Costs and Planning
The trade dispute isn’t limited to rhetoric. A Sept. 8 White House proclamation bans imports of certain Canadian alcohol, dairy, and motor-vehicle products effective Sept. 29, escalating measures first imposed in July under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer said Canada “walked away from a near-final trade deal” before the ban was announced.
There is currently no formal EU treaty status called “associate member,” and any path to one would require unanimous approval from the bloc’s 27 member states, CTVNews.ca reported. German MEP Tobias Cremer said the two sides need to “stop sending each other love letters and put meat on the bone.”
Canada is also pursuing other military and diplomatic alignments. Carney said Wednesday that Canada has formally applied for full membership in the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, a NATO-adjacent rapid-response coalition, a bid Britain supports.
Market participants now face two key deadlines. The Sept. 29 import ban takes effect, while the Oct. 29-30 leaders’ meeting in Montreal will clarify the structure—and possibly the name—of any new Canada-EU relationship.
