President Donald Trump sharply criticized Canada on Monday amid an ongoing trade dispute, saying the country has treated the United States unfairly even as it seeks a new agreement with Washington.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said Canada “call[s] us all the time” wanting a deal. “The problem is, they have treated the United States very unfairly. They have been one of the worst countries in the entire world,” he said. He specifically cited what he described as Canadian tariffs of “400% and more” on some U.S. agricultural products and criticized Canada’s reliance on the United States for trade and defense.

The remarks come as the Trump administration and the Carney government remain at odds over tariffs covering billions of dollars in cross-border commerce. The dispute has included new U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and retaliatory measures from Ottawa. Trump said he expects Canada to return within three or four weeks seeking to eliminate the tariffs, but insisted any agreement must be “a fair deal.”

At the same time, Carney has been pursuing a broader economic and security relationship with Europe to reduce Canada’s dependence on the United States. He has described the proposed relationship as a “unique alliance” rather than full EU membership. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed that Canada become the EU’s first “associate member,” a new partnership that could expand cooperation on trade, defense, energy, technology and critical minerals.

Carney welcomed the idea during a September address to the European Parliament but stressed that Canada is not seeking full membership and that any enhanced partnership would need to be negotiated and approved by Canada’s Parliament. Canada and the EU already trade under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement; deeper ties would expand that framework. Ottawa has also explored greater defense cooperation with European industries and has moved toward acquiring military technology from countries including Sweden and Australia.

The strained relationship between Washington and Ottawa has therefore moved beyond tariffs into broader questions of Canada’s trade, defense and diplomatic strategy. Trump continues to argue that Canada benefits disproportionately from its ties to the United States, while Carney’s government builds additional partnerships as the dispute continues.