Trump threatens Canada with more tariffs over wildfire haze, World Cup final stadium seen shrouded in smog

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to slap new tariffs on Canada as a result of hazy conditions affecting parts of the U.S. due to ongoing wildfires.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said, "(The) United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable!"

He said he would call Canada's Prime Minister, Mark Carney, about the matter and accused Canada of failing to "engage in basic Forest Management".

He added:

"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."

Following Trump's remarks, Canada's emergency management minister said the two countries remain in close contact and have a long history of working together on such disasters, the BBC reported.

Thus far, more than 800 wildfires have been detected in Canada, according to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System.

The wildfires have been primarily driven by hot and dry weather, along with lightning strikes.

Haze from wildfire clouds World Cup finals

The ongoing wildfires have also cast a cloud of uncertainty over the status of the World Cup final, which is due to be played on Jul. 20, between Spain and Argentina.

According to USA Today, haze from the wildfires in Canada was seen blanketing the open-air stadium at East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Jul. 17, where the World Cup final will take place.

Moderate to unhealthy air conditions were also detected over New York City and the U.S. capital, Washington D.C., U.S. media Fox 13 News reported.

While Trump's post did not mention the World Cup final, the White House World Cup task force executive director, Andrew Giulani, said there has been discussion about the situation, Aljazeera reported.

"We have somebody with the National Weather Service that sits in FIFA headquarters there, so we’re monitoring closely," Giulani added.

The situation is expected to improve over the weekend however, given that rain has been forecasted for Jul. 18, over the region of New York and New Jersey, Reuters reported.