The New Detroit-Windsor Bridge Can’t Repair the Damage Trump Has Done
“This is the type of event you expect a Prime Minister and a President to meet in the middle [of the bridge]Tighten the hand and celebrate the relationship, “said Dilkens in a recent interview at the Windsor City Hall, the river visible from the window.” I hope that our trade relationship normalizes and stabilizes. “”
The combined metropolitan region of the Detroit and Windsor region includes 5.7 million people, on the American side, 645,705 live in Detroit proper, among 4.3 million citizens in southeast Michigan. Ford and Stellantis, who have their world and the American headquarters, respectively, in the Grand Detroit, manage large plants in Windsor. But mutual links go beyond the expedition of automotive parts and finished cars between the Motor City and its Canadian cousin. The mayor said that 6,000 daily commuters–mainly engineers and medical workers–Cross the American border for jobs but live on the Canadian side. Beyond that, citing military alliances with the United States during the Second World War and, more recently, in the Middle East wars, Dilkens said of Canada: “We are not a fucking neutral country. We are an ally and a friend. And we are here with you.
In August, Trump increased price rates from 25% to 35% on Canadian products not covered by other prices (such as those in steel and aluminum) or by the American-mexico-Canada, or USMCA agreement. In his first mandate, Trump often sang that the USMCA was a personal diplomatic triumph which replaced the North American free trade agreement. But since then, he has often said that Canada “scammed us”.
