President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on Canada from 25% to 50% has scuttled plans for binational celebration to open the new Gordie Howe International Bridge from Detroit to Windsor, Ontario.
The long-awaited, $4.7-billion (U.S.) span is still set to open to traffic on Monday, July 27. But three sources told the Free Press that Americans had been politely, but effectively, disinvited to what would now be a Canada-only opening ceremony this Friday, on July 24.
And the reason, said two of the sources, who are both part of discussions about the bridge opening on the American side but weren’t authorized to speak publicly, was Trump’s signing an executive order on July 20 threatening to raise tariffs on a wide range of Canadian imports − including wine, cement and even hockey sticks − beginning next month.
Trump says those tariffs are justified by retaliatory tariffs raised on U.S. autos, alcohol and cheese in Canada in response to Trump’s raising tariffs on Canadian imports in 2025. The law Trump relies on this time, which allows for tariffs to be raised in cases where a country unfairly discriminates against U.S. goods, has never been used in such a way before but may be on better legal footing than tariffs imposed under national emergency justifications the U.S. Supreme Court found lacking.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to Trump’s threat as in “direct violation” of the existing U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement and there was every indication that Canadian officials were up in arms over the proposal.
“In light of trade action threatened by the United States earlier this week, it would be inappropriate to proceed with a celebratory event between the two countries,” Jenna Ghassabeh, a spokesperson for Canadian Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, said in a statement reported by Politico.
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) posted on its website a release announcing “A Canadian Celebration of the Gordie Howe International Bridge” scheduled for Friday, July 24 at 11:30 a.m., with Robertson in attendance. There was no indication U.S. or Michigan officials planned to hold any similar event on the American side − which isn’t necessarily strange because Canada paid upfront for the bridge.
Canada and Michigan share joint ownership of the bridge under a deal struck in 2012 and effectively signed off on by then-President Barack Obama’s administration.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, on July 21, expressed dismay over Trump’s recent tariff announcement, saying Michigan’s economy confronts a unique exposure to his administration’s unpredictable changes in trade policy. As for whether she worried the Gordie Howe Bridge opening could be delayed again because of it, she responded, “I sure hope not.”
The bridge, long sought by Canadian officials and business leaders in southeast Michigan, was set to open last month but was postponed as questions were raised by the Trump administration again over what the United States should get from Canada to allow its use.
Canada and U.S. negotiators agreed to a deal in which half of the profits − that amount above the principal and debt service Canada owes on the funding for the bridge’s construction − will go to an economic development fund on the U.S. side. American officials will also have a say about significant changes in toll rates.
Staff writer Clara Hendrickson contributed to this story.
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on X @tsspangler.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump’s new tariffs upend planned Gordie Howe Bridge ceremony
Reporting by Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
