Is President Trump right to threaten Europe with tariffs over Canada's bid to become an EU 'associate member'?
On September 16, 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to become the EU's first 'associate member,' and President Trump responded by threatening 'very serious tariffs' on Europe, calling the move a possible 'hostile act.'
Trump pushed a close ally of long standing away with idiotic insults and confiscatory tariffs and now he complains that Canada is strengthening ties with Europe and China? FAFO, Donnie.
Newton's third law of motion: Whenever one object exerts a force on a second, the second exerts a force of equal magnitude and opposite direction on the first
If Canada actually joins the EU's orbit, that's a bigger structural shift than a tariff spat. Curious if "overreaction" voters think there's any version of this deal that wouldn't provoke a response.
What deal? Trump has taunted Canada about becoming the 51st state, insulted its prime minister, denigrated its people, and levied confiscatory tariffs on it. You're right that it is bigger than a tariff "spat" and wrong to suggest that there is a "deal" involved. There was a deal, the USMCA which was simply NAFTA with Trump's name on it. And then Trump decided to walk away from that as well. Donald Trump and Howard Lutnick may be the only economists (yeah, believe it or not Trump's bachelor's is in economics) alive who think that broad based tariffs are a good idea.
Broad-based tariffs seem so last century. I do hope this is the last gasp of last-century trade policy and we can all move on.
It will be harder to move on from than it was to get into. The tariffs may fade. But the world economy has begun to reorient and a change of presidents won't reverse that. Everyone now knows that the US is never more than 4 years away from potential chaos. Economics loves stability. So do most countries.