Canada juggles Gordie Howe bridge threat, CUSMA risk, and China pivot for investors
US President Donald Trump is using a US$4.7bn trade corridor as leverage—and that has real implications for investors exposed to North American supply chains.
According to BNN Bloomberg, he has threatened on social media to block the Gordie Howe International Bridge from opening unless “the United States is fully compensated” and Canada treats the US with “Fairness and Respect,” adding, “We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY.”
The bridge, financed by Canada and jointly owned with Michigan, is designed to relieve chronic truck congestion at the existing Ambassador Bridge and support about $1bn in daily trade through Windsor‑Essex.
Reuters said the crossing is expected to cut about 20 minutes off truck transit times and save truckers US$2.3bn over 30 years.
Local leaders frame it as essential infrastructure, not a bargaining chip.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer called it “the largest (commerce) crossing in North America” and said it must open on time.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, whose city hosts the busiest commercial border crossing between Canada and the US, called Trump’s bridge claims “insanity and inaccurate,” BNN Bloomberg reports.
Business groups told BNN Bloomberg that any delay would slow job growth and capacity expansion on both sides of the border.
This pressure comes on top of new uncertainty over the Canada–US–Mexico trade deal.
Bloomberg reports that Trump is privately asking aides why he should not exit USMCA/CUSMA ahead of its mandatory review, while US Trade Representative official Jamieson Greer has ruled out a “simple rubber-stamp” of the current terms and said talks with Canada are “more challenging.”
Failure to agree on renewal could trigger annual reviews and open the door to a US withdrawal with six months’ notice, putting roughly US$2tn in North American trade under a cloud.
At the same time, Ottawa is pushing harder on diversification.
International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told Bloomberg Television that Canada aims to boost non‑US exports by $300bn, backed by trade talks with India, ASEAN, Mercosur and others, and positioned Canada as a “reliable, stable partner” for energy, agriculture and critical minerals.
BNN Bloomberg reported that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent trip to China produced limited tariff adjustments on Canadian canola and electric vehicles—short of a full free trade deal.
Bloomberg added that Canada agreed to allow up to 49,000 Chinese‑made EVs a year into a market that buys about 1.5m vehicles annually, with Sidhu highlighting scope for joint ventures to build EVs in Canada.
Those moves have triggered sharp reactions from Washington.
Reuters said Trump has threatened a 100 percent tariff on Canadian goods if Ottawa follows through on a deal with China and accused Beijing of planning to “eat Canada alive.”
BNN Bloomberg reported that public policy expert Carlo Dade argues Canada “did not” break CUSMA and instead “got played,” because US officials wanted Canadians to believe they had breached the agreement ahead of renegotiations.
Trade lawyer Lawrence Herman told BNN Bloomberg that Canada’s targeted tariffs on the US and China fall within permitted retaliatory measures and that Canada is entitled under WTO and CUSMA rules to diversify trade.
He accused Washington of stretching national security exceptions and “shatter[ing]” the rules‑based order.
