(NewsNation) — Truckers are feeling the impact of on-again, off-again tariffs, especially those who work to transport vehicles and auto parts between the U.S. and Canada.
While there is still a steady flow of traffic across the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit and Canada, including plenty of 18-wheelers, truckers and businesses say uncertainty is still affecting things.
Truckers fear they may not have job security in the future if tariffs lessen the flow of goods between America and its northern neighbor.
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The border crossing between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is the busiest along the northern border. More than one and a half million Canadian trucks crossed into Detroit back in 2023; nearly 6,000 trucks each weekday and more than $100 billion worth of goods moved between Michigan and Canada every single year.
But after President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on goods coming in from Canada, the big three automakers had to make some hard decisions that included temporary layoffs.
For truckers, that means less work. Trucker Josette Rosendary told NewsNation that a friend of hers has seen reduced hours.
“He said he’s every other day now, where he was every day,” she said. “Now, if he worked Monday, he’s off Tuesday, goes back Wednesday, off Thursday, go back Friday. That ain’t no way you can pay no bills with that.”
Other truckers say they haven’t noticed much of a difference and that it seems as busy as ever, indicating that any reaction to tariffs hasn’t affected traffic patterns.
The 90-day pause on country-specific tariffs, which sets everything to a baseline 10%, does not affect Canada. Many of the initial Canadian tariffs have also been paused, though some remain. Currently, goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement are exempt from tariffs.
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said trade negotiations with the U.S. won’t begin until after the country’s parliamentary elections later this month.
That means U.S. businesses are going to have to continue to grapple with uncertainty, unsure how severe tariffs will be and whether the trade war will escalate.
“What I am hearing, including in meetings today, is that people have no sense of certainty. They cannot plan, they cannot make decisions,” said Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. “I wouldn’t judge any company in America who says, well, today the policy is they’ve removed from of the tariffs but tomorrow, what could happen? This is a deep level of uncertainty that no adult can function on.”
Messaging from the White House has been clear, the Trump administration saying both Canada and Mexico need to be prepared for a new era of North American trade that could mean drastic changes for everyone.
