Trump's Canada threats put U.S. interests at risk as bridge fight escalates

Driving the news: Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday that he'd block the bridge unless the U.S. is "fully compensated" for everything America does for Canada.

• He said negotiations would begin immediately and demanded U.S. ownership of "at least one half" of the project.

Reality check: The bridge is jointly owned by Michigan and Canada, and the Canadian government completely financed the project, according to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority.

• The bridge will be the largest land port along the U.S.-Canada border, and an expected 6,000 people will take the road to commute to Detroit from Ontario every day, per the Detroit News.
• The project will connect major highways between both countries, alleviating commercial freight traffic. When the project was first announced under President Trump's first term, he called it a "vital economic link between our two countries."

The intrigue: The bridge would also provide a cheaper alternative to the Ambassador Bridge, a privately owned connection operated by Detroit trucking tycoon Matthew Moroun, who has repeatedly lobbied to cancel Gordie Howe.

• Prior to the Gordie Howe's construction, Moroun's bridge was perfectly placed to reap all the proceeds of international border crossings in the greater Windsor-Detroit area.
• Moroun reportedly spoke to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hours before the president posted his dissatisfaction with the project, according to the New York Times.

Zoom in: The bridge is also supposed to stabilize relations between U.S. and Canadian automakers, who have been on shaky footing since the president began imposing sweeping auto tariffs last year.

• The tariffs were particularly biting to the Windsor-Detroit region because automakers often move parts across the U.S.-Canada border multiple times before a vehicle is finished, meaning the two areas are intrinsically intertwined.

Two members of the Detroit Three, Stellantis and GM, declined Axios' request for comment. Ford did not respond to Axios' request for comment.

Zoom out: Trump paired his threats with additional warnings to Canada, which he says has treated the U.S. "very unfairly for decades."

• Trump said the bridge didn't use American steel, a withering industry the president has said he wants to revitalize. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Tuesday that the project was built with workers and steel from both sides of the border.

• The president also slammed Ontario's decision to block U.S. alcoholic products from its shelves, a retaliatory policy launched by Trump's tariffs last year.
• He also denounced as disastrous for Canada a proposed Canada-China trade deal — announced shortly before Carney urged mid-sized countries at Davos to unite against geopolitical aggression.

The other side: Candace Laing, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday that "blocking or barricading bridges is a self-defeating move."

• "Modern border infrastructure strengthens shared economic security. The path forward isn't deconstructing established trade corridors; it's actually building bridges."
• Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D–Mich.) said the president's threat to block the bridge opening would be "awful for our state's economy" in a Monday post on X.
• "Canceling this project will have serious repercussions… With this threat, the President is punishing Michiganders for a trade war he started."

What we're watching: It's not immediately clear what Trump can do to prohibit the bridge from opening.

• He could decline to staff the customs checkpoint on the Michigan side, which the U.S. previously committed to staffing, Detroit News reports.

Go deeper: Trump's threat to block Gordie Howe bridge divides Michigan leaders - Axios Detroit