The Gordie Howe Bridge — named after Canada’s hockey great — connects Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit, Michigan. Financed completely by Canada, the bridge now sits idle because Donald Trump says he wants part of the action — for the U.S., of course.
The shutdown has Michigan politicos blaming Trump’s involvement with the proprietors of the current Canada-Michigan bridge. The Moroun family, owners of the decrepit Ambassador Bridge, reportedly made a $1 million donation to a Trump PAC.
Meanwhile, Trump says the Gordie Howe Bridge stands to make “astronomical” sums from tolls, and the U.S. should have 50 percent ownership, though we paid zero for its construction. The president has now tied the opening of the bridge to negotiations for the renewal of the USMCA, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.
His administration is using the bridge as a bargaining chip to push Canada for major concessions on unrelated trade friction points, including:
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Canadian tariffs on U.S. dairy products.
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The absence of U.S. steel in parts of the bridge’s early construction phases.
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The placement of American alcohol products on Ontario retail shelves.
My View: If Trump wants 50 percent of the revenue, he should reimburse Canada for 50 percent of the cost, estimated to total $4.6 billion in U.S. dollars. I’ve heard of no such offer.
Is there anything involving trade that Trump hasn’t set about destroying?
N.B. The “Hell No — You Can’t Go” notation on the image of the bridge (above) is a riff on a much-used chant from the Vietnam War days, which was “Hell, no, we won’t go!”
