Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said this Tuesday, 10, that he had a “positive” conversation with Donald Trump after the American president threatened to block a new bridge between the two countries and reminded him that it was Canada that paid for the structure.
On Monday, the 9th, Trump posted a long message on social media threatening to suspend the opening of the $4.6 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, if Canadian authorities did not resolve a long list of complaints.
Amid a trade war and a growing rift between Americans and Canadians, Trump said he “would not allow” the opening of the bridge, scheduled for early this year, “until the U.S. is fully compensated for everything we have given.” “It is important that Canada treats the US with the fairness and respect it deserves,” he said.
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It was unclear how Trump would block the bridge’s opening. Its construction was financed by Canada. A public-private agreement, in which the country and the state of Michigan would jointly operate the crossing, gives U.S. state officials a stake in the property. The project is intended to alleviate congestion on the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
Negotiation
“This will be resolved,” Carney told reporters, noting that American steel and workers were used in the work. According to the prime minister, Trump said he will ask the US ambassador to Canada, former Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra, to “mediate conversations related to the bridge”.
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One possible way to block the bridge would be to declare a state of emergency. Under the law, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency can temporarily close a point of entry “when necessary to respond to a specific threat to human life or national interests.” Trump frequently invokes emergency laws for events and circumstances considered routine in order to take advantage of the expanded authority this gives him.
Order
The nearby Ambassador Bridge, one of the busiest border crossings on the continent, has been privately owned for decades by a Detroit trucking billionaire and his family, the Morouns. They had previously called on Trump to halt construction of the Gordie Howe Bridge, which, once opened, would compete with the more than $300 million in daily cross-border trade that passes through the Ambassador Bridge.
In a social media post on Monday, Trump also suggested that the US could try to acquire “at least half” of the new bridge and get a share of the toll revenue.
In his first term, Trump promoted the project in a joint statement with Canadian officials as a symbol of the deep economic partnership between the two countries and as “a vital economic link” between them.
But the president’s threat to suspend the opening of the bridge is in line with a broader pressure campaign to force the Canadian government to give in to his demands. In addition to threatening to annex Canada as the 51st American state, Trump is waging a trade war against his northern neighbor, imposing tariffs and threatening other economic sanctions.
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Speech
Trump’s attacks on Canada increased in intensity following the Canadian prime minister’s speech last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In his speech, considered historic by analysts, Carney called on leaders of medium-sized nations to unite to resist Trump’s “America First” doctrine and his efforts to dismantle the post-World War II international order.
Trump’s aggressive stance since returning to office has infuriated the Canadian government, angered its citizens and damaged economic ties between the two countries. Canadians have been boycotting tourist destinations and products imported from the USA. (WITH INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES)
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