The European Union’s invitation to Canada on Wednesday to become an “associate member” of the bloc shows how intent traditional United States allies are on pursuing a more stable future by binding closer together, a move President Trump said could be perceived as “a hostile act.”
As if to confirm the deep concerns that pushed them closer, Mr. Trump threatened retribution.
“If Europe does that, with a bad intention — if it’s a good intention, that’s fine — if it’s bad intention we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe, which is a possibility,” he told reporters in North Carolina before a rally.
Hours earlier, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, “We must urgently reimagine our partnerships.” A beaming Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada sat beside her.
While details of what this relationship might look like remain scant, Ms. von der Leyen noted some potential areas of cooperation, including partnerships in manufacturing, technology, defense, energy policy and economic security.
This would not be “a partnership against anyone else,” she insisted, “but for our common strength.”
Mr. Carney’s office also said on Wednesday that Canada had formally applied to join the Joint Expeditionary Force, a British-led military coalition of 10 North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, seven of which are also part of the European Union.
European officials said that, in the lead-up to the speech on Wednesday, the bloc wanted to ensure that Mr. Trump did not see this new partnership with Canada as an anti-American move.
