Trump threatens Canada with new tariffs over wildfire smoke pollution

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to levy additional tariffs on Canadian imports on Saturday, July 18, accusing Ottawa of "willful negligence" regarding forest management as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to blanket the American Midwest and East Coast.

In a statement posted on his Truth Social platform, President Trump announced intentions to call the Canadian Prime Minister to demand an official response to the environmental crisis, which has triggered hazardous air quality warnings across multiple major U.S. metropolitan areas.

The president explicitly tied the ongoing environmental damage directly to bilateral trade penalties, writing:

"We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable! I will call the Prime Minister during the day to find out what they are going to do about it. The cost is incalculable! Canada has refused to engage in basic Forest Management and Debris Removal, knowing that such refusal will lead to exactly this result. This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Canada is currently experiencing its most destructive wildfire season in recent history, driven by prolonged record-breaking heatwaves and severe drought conditions. Official forestry data indicates that the blazes have already consumed more than 6 million hectares of woodland, exhausting domestic firefighting resources and sending massive plumes of particulate matter across the northern border of the United States.

By Tamilla Hasanova