Donald Trump threatens Canada with tariffs over ‘invasion’ of wildfire smoke

{"text":[[{"start":7.9,"text":"Donald Trump lashed out at Canada on Friday over wildfire smoke that has poured into the US this week, threatening to levy billions more in tariffs on Canadian imports in retaliation. "}],[{"start":20,"text":"The US president said Canada was “not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein,” and the US was being “unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air”."}],[{"start":31.9,"text":"In a Truth Social post, Trump accused Ottawa of “willful negligence” that he said was costing the US billions of dollars each year. He added that the cost of the pollution “is incalculable” and should be “added to the tariffs Canada currently pays”."}],[{"start":48.5,"text":"His comments came as thick clouds of smoke from wildfires burning in northern Canada settled over Washington, prompting warnings about dangerously poor air quality."}],[{"start":58.05,"text":"Canada has more active wildfires than at the same time of the year in either of the past two years, and the area burned so far this year exceeds the 10-year average. "}],[{"start":67.75,"text":"The nation’s biggest wildfire season by area was in 2023, while blazes in 2024 devastated a swath of the tourism area of the Jasper National Park."}],[{"start":77.8,"text":"Wildfires are a long-standing risk in the boreal forests of the world, but climate change has made them more frequent and intense."}],[{"start":85.1,"text":"Those blazing across in northwestern Ontario this week stretch along a front of about 500km."}],[{"start":92.14999999999999,"text":"Plumes of polluted air have moved across much of the US Midwest and East Coast this week, prompting similar health warnings in other major cities including New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. Canadian cities including Toronto have also been affected."}],[{"start":108.39999999999999,"text":"Trump said he would call Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney to “find out what they are going to do about it”."}],[{"start":115.05,"text":"A spokesperson for Carney did not immediately respond to a request for comment."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":119.89999999999999,"text":"Trump’s threat to levy additional tariffs on Canada comes at a tense time for relations between Washington and Ottawa."}],[{"start":127.3,"text":"Earlier this month, US trade representative Jamieson Greer said the White House would opt against a long-term renewal of its 2020 trade deal with Canada and Mexico, and instead commit to rolling talks that could lead to years of protracted renegotiations between the US and two of its top trading partners."}],[{"start":146.05,"text":"But Trump has been constrained in his use of tariffs since the US Supreme Court earlier this year ruled he could not use emergency powers to hit trading partners with duties."}],[{"start":156.9,"text":"That ruling has forced US officials to rely on a patchwork of more procedural laws to apply tariffs while many of Trump’s original “liberation day” levies remain cancelled."}],[{"start":168.9,"text":"It is unclear what legal authorities Trump could use to hit Canada with tariffs to respond to wildfire smoke. "}],[{"start":175.1,"text":"Carney has been among the sharpest critics of Trump during the president’s second term, pushing back forcefully on his claims that Canada should be the 51st state and repeated threats to levy steeper tariffs on the US’s neighbour."}],[{"start":188.7,"text":"But Carney has shifted his tone in recent months, urging deeper integration between the US and Canada in an effort to shore up a trade agreement and avoid years of fraught negotiations."}],[{"start":199.64999999999998,"text":"Additional reporting by Aime Williams"}],[{"start":208.95,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784502520_6609.mp3"}