Trump jokes about imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada over lettuce illness and wildfire smoke
President Trump suggested possible tariffs on Mexico and Canada during a press briefing, linking them to a lettuce-related parasite outbreak and smoke from Canadian wildfires that have affected U.S. air quality.
President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States might consider major tariffs on Mexico because of a lettuce issue and on Canada because of smoke, referencing a foodborne illness outbreak and smoke from Canadian wildfires that have impacted Americans.
The comments were made during an Oval Office press conference after a reporter asked when lettuce would be safe to eat again. > "I think we'll put a major tariff on Mexico because of the lettuce. And we'll put a big tariff on Canada because of the smoke," Trump said.
Federal health officials are currently investigating a cyclosporiasis outbreak that the CDC says has produced 4,173 laboratory-confirmed cases since May 1, with an additional 7,400 suspected cases, affecting 41 states. The parasite Cyclospora causes severe diarrhea.
At the same time, smoke from wildfires in Canada has triggered air-quality alerts across large parts of the United States, with millions of people exposed to reduced air quality as fires have burned millions of acres of forest.
"I've told Canada, they have to do something about it. We've never had this problem. All of a sudden we have this problem with Canada," Trump added.
The president's remarks came as the CDC continued to monitor the outbreak and as environmental monitors reported significant smoke-related pollution in several U.S. cities.