Statement: Detroit Regional Chamber on the Gordie Howe International Bridge

“The U.S.-Canada trade relationship and economies have been successfully intertwined for well over a century, benefiting both sides of our shared border. As Americans, we need to lean into and build off this relationship to maintain our global competitiveness and create jobs and economic growth.

The international bridge is the most consequential infrastructure project in the state and region of this generation. It will support economic growth and improve border security, and any effort to block this project would have tremendous consequences for the region, state, and country.

We also cannot lose sight of the facts of how this project came about and its importance to our economy as part of one of the strongest cross-border trade relationships in history.

Thanks to multiple Canadian national governments, U.S. presidential administrations of both parties, and both Democratic and Republican governors of Michigan, the new bridge is close to becoming a reality and will advance international commerce and accelerate business growth, particularly in automotive, manufacturing, and agriculture.

This project would not have been possible without the partnership of the Canadian government, which paid to construct the new bridge. Following the lead of the U.S. in the investment of the Blue Water Bridge, the Canadian government invested in the new international bridge crossing to facilitate the centuries-long trade and economic relationship between the U.S. and Canada — and especially Michigan and Ontario — for the long term, not for the political dynamics of any given moment in time.

Canada is more than a neighbor; it is critical to our economic future. There is no greater example of that than the international bridge.”

-Sandy K. Baruah, President and Chief Executive Officer, Detroit Regional Chamber