Detroit and Windsor’s economies are intimately connected. On a typical day, thousands of trucks cross the Detroit River with parts that may cross back again several times before a single car rolls off the line. 

But that rhythm is off. 

New tariffs and shifting border rules have fueled uncertainty, and you can see it in fewer trucks and feel it in prices. The port handled about 1.4 million inbound trucks last year, down from over one and half million the year before. The flow has been wobbling through 2025. 

Canadian travel to the U.S. has also slumped this summer, draining foot traffic from border businesses. A new crossing, the Gordie Howe International Bridge, could add capacity later this year, but the rules at the booth still set the tempo. 

Marta Leardi-Anderso, executive director of the Cross-Border Institute at the University of Windsor, joined The Metro to unpack the mechanics and the human impact of President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

More stories from The Metro

Gordie Howe International Bridge officials say construction work on the new span over the Detroit River is about 95% complete.

The project broke ground in 2018. The roughly 1.5-mile long crossing between Detroit and Windsor is still on track to open this fall, but an exact date has not yet been given.

Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority spokesperson Heather Grondin says crews are wrapping up paving work and putting the finishing touches on employee areas.

“We’re also doing a lot of landscaping,” said Grondin. “These are major ports of entry — the largest along the Canada-U.S. border — so landscaping is a huge part of the project.”

Grondin adds that crews have a number of final checks to carry out before the grand opening.

“Testing our lighting is a great example of that,” she said. “It’s not just installing the 5,000-plus aesthetic lights, the safety lights that will be on the bridge, but it’s also testing it and making sure it works.”

As for work residents in Michigan and Ontario may notice, Grondin says the construction cranes on the bridge have now come down — marking a major milestone in the project.

Work has also begun on testing the technological systems and processes in preparation for the bridge’s opening, according to project officials.