It may have been some time since you've crossed the border and witnessed the impact of the U.S. trade war on Detroit.
Many of the challenges faced by Detroit businesses, both large and small, will sound familiar to Canadians by now. Just as on the Canadian side of the border, it's the uncertainty of ever-changing tariffs that poses the greatest burden.
"Mostly we're still feeling a lot of uncertainty because there are not trade deals in place with Canada, Mexico, and China," said MichAuto Executive Director Glenn Stevens Jr. "All of which are huge trading partners for Michigan's auto industry."
Stevens is also the Chief Automotive and Innovation Officer at the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce.
"At some point, something has to give," said Stevens. "Stellantis has said quite clearly that tariffs are impacting their bottom line, but the vehicle prices really haven't crept up too much yet. What we do see are costs rising for companies."
While some manufacturers and business owners are choosing to absorb the cost of tariffs, others are holding off on investment and hiring.
"I'm hearing more and more about maybe we won't run that shift. The volumes are not there to support it. How can we cut back? How can we delay some expenses? So I think people are being very conservative about how they run their businesses because there's a lot of trepidation about where this is going."
On MichAuto's website, Stevens wrote, "This is extraordinarily disruptive to Michigan's most important industries -- making it impossible to plan and expand, which impacts our employment and economic base. It is also damaging our automotive companies' ability to innovate and compete against global competition. The delay in resolving trade disputes with Mexico and Canada impacts Michigan and our regional partners in a negative and disproportionate way, putting us at greater economic risk than the rest of the nation."
The Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce has written a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the local impact of the U.S. trade war. Stevens says it's in constant contact with both Washington and Michigan's federal delegation.
"This is a constant drumbeat, and in fact, I'll be meeting with one of our Senators here in Detroit this week," said Stevens.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is mulling over the possibility of lowering some tariffs on American products if it helps Canadian industries. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump increased tariffs on products not included in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement from 25 per cent to 35 per cent after the deadline passed for a trade deal between the two countries.