Trump threatens to add Canada wildfire smoke costs to tariffs
The move could deepen U.S.-Canada trade tensions as smoke drifts across state lines and air-quality alerts spread in several states.
President Donald Trump threatened to fold the pollution costs from Canada’s wildfires into tariffs on Canadian goods. He accused Ottawa of mismanaging forests, saying smoke has blanketed parts of the U.S. from the Midwest to the Northeast and prompted warnings for residents to limit outdoor activity. According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, there are 888 active fires; since the start of 2026, more than 3,600 fires have been recorded, burning about 2,8 million hectares. In Washington, city officials issued a red air-quality alert. Trump also plans to call Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney to discuss response measures. Climate experts say forests that are becoming drier because of global warming are worsening fire risk.