U.S. and Canadian officials are reportedly planning to open a key bridge connecting Michigan with Canada’s Ontario Province in the coming days, despite President Donald Trump‘s earlier threats to stop it from opening.
Gordie Howe Bridge To Open?
Officials will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a $4.7 billion project with a six-lane span, according to a report by The Detroit News on Monday. The report says vehicles are slated to start using the bridge on June 15.
The White House and Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority didn’t immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
The bridge is intended to ease freight backups in a corridor heavily tied to cross-border commerce, including auto manufacturing.
Canada and Michigan previously agreed to share ownership, with toll revenue split after Canada recovers its outlay, the report said.
The Gordie Howe Bridge Row
Previously, Trump had said that Canada had treated the U.S. “very unfairly” for decades, while also saying that the bridge was made with “virtually no U.S. content.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) had reaffirmed her support for the project, saying that the bridge would go ahead as planned despite Trump’s opposition.
USMCA Negotiations
Earlier, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that tariffs imposed on Mexico would remain in effect despite renegotiations in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, slated to end July 1st this year.
Meanwhile, a report by the BBC last week said that Ottawa was looking at renewing the USMCA for another 16 years, but recognized the fact that the deal had room for agreements.
US-Canada Relations
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra has expressed concerns over Canada’s deal with China to allow over 49,000 EVs from China to enter the Canadian market at a reduced tariff rate of 6.1%. The number could potentially increase to 70,000 in the future. Trump had threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Canada if it made deals with China
Hoekstra had also earlier said that no Chinese-made EVs would be able to cross the border into the country, with Greer earlier saying that the administration does not intend to change the former President Joe Biden-era rules that limit Chinese software and hardware in the U.S. auto industry.
Interestingly, the Chinese EV rule could stand to benefit Elon Musk and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) as the EV giant reportedly shipped over 2,910 EVs in the country from China in May.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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