Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the European Union’s proposal for Canada to become the bloc’s first “associate member,” signaling Ottawa is intent on reducing economic reliance on Washington, and lashed out at President Donald Trump’s new tariff threats.

Speaking before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday, Carney delivered a clear message to the American president: Nobody can tell Canada what to do. A potential trade alliance between the EU and Canada would be “strong enough so that no one can dictate our choices,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump threatened to levy “serious tariffs” on the EU should it bring Canada into its 27-member country trading bloc, a move the president said he might consider a “hostile act” as the United States and Canada remain locked in a bitter trade war.

Trump called the idea, pitched by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during her State of the Union speech Wednesday, “laughable.”

“Canada’s been a terrible trade partner,” Trump told reporters during a trip to North Carolina on Wednesday. “If I think it’s at all a hostile act, I will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe on many things.”

Canada has sought to deepen its ties with the EU to bolster economic resilience amid the escalating trade war with Washington. Trump in July slapped Canada with a 50% tariff on some $27.6 billion worth of goods over what he said were “discriminatory” trading practices. Carney responded by matching the import taxes dollar-for-dollar after trade talks between Ottawa and Washington collapsed.

“We do not seek power to dominate others,” Carney said in his speech Thursday. “On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so that no one can control our open markets, impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity, or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule of law.”

A Canada-EU alliance, Carney added, would “create a beacon for other democracies.”

Though the idea has received some support from EU leaders, it’s unclear what the trade partnership would look like and what the status of “associate member” would entail. Any formal designation would require agreement from all 27 EU member countries.

Responding to Trump’s comments in a press conference later Thursday, Carney said, “This alliance is a positive process. That’s my response to the American president.”

“No one is going to dictate our culture,” Carney said, “or with whom we can strike agreements.”

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