Trump threatens EU over ‘hostile’ Canada association plan

US President Donald Trump has threatened to cut trade or impose tariffs on the European Union if it makes Canada an associate member. According to Business Insider, Trump called the proposal "laughable" and described Canada as a "terrible trade partner".

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had backed proposals for Canada to become the EU's first "associate member", which would involve closer ties on various key sectors. She said offering Canada some sort of EU membership was "not a partnership against anyone else, but for our common strength".

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is due to address the European Parliament, and has spoken of seeking a "unique alliance" with the EU. Trade talks between Canada and the US have collapsed, sparking a series of new tariff measures, and Trump has repeatedly talked of making Canada a "51st state", fuelling the feud between the North American neighbours, as reported by The Chronicle Ghana and Winnipeg Free Press.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Punch, The Chronicle Ghana, Business Insider, Winnipeg Free Press — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.