Border cities of the US Canada, which are hit by Trump's trade war

At the end of a waiter's class, Kristina Lampert separated her tips in two stacks: Canadian money and Americans.

But it has been weeks since she did.

Frachters, the restaurant in which she works, is one of the first places where people can get a bite after crossing the US Canada border between Sarnia, Ontario, and Port Huron, Michigan.

The Blue Water Bridge, which connects the USA and Canada, is in full view from the windows of the restaurant.

“Many people came over earlier and said 'We are here for the view,” she says about Canadian guests. “I haven't heard that lately.”

Border cities noticed almost immediately when US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs around the world and said that he wanted to make Canada the 51st US state -because the number of Canadians who crossed the border broke.

According to CBP data, the border crossings between the USA and Canada have dropped by around 17% since Trump brought in tariffs.

According to Statistics Canada, the Canadians' car trips to the United States have dropped by almost 32%.

Like many of the cities that endowed the 8,891 km border of 5,525 miles, the economies of Port Huron and Sarnia are in a way connected. Port Huron is a processing city with fewer than 30,000 people with a picturesque city center and many retail stores and offers visitors a tempting chance for a day trip.

On a day on which there is little traffic, a resident of Sarnia can cross the border and be to Michigan in a few minutes.

Many of these cities were faced with their first test more than five years ago when the Covid 19 pandemy took the crossings for 19 months and reset the local economy.

Now you see a second economic hit due to Trump's trade war, whereby many Canadians have decided to buy “Canadians” – to buy Canadian goods – and to reduce trips to the USA to react to the trained relationship between the two neighboring countries.

A place where this can be seen is in Sarnia's Duty Free, the last place where you can buy goods before leaving Canada and entering the USA. The shelves of perfume and alcohol are fuller and the parking lot is empty because the tariffs started.

Barbara Barett, the executive director of the Frontier Duty Free Association, says that some of the 32 Free Border Duty Frees in Canada have seen a drop in sales of 80% since Trump's return to the White House. Most shops have recorded a 50-60% drop in business.

“We are 100% dependent on the ride across the border,” she says of the obligation. “Our shops are often pillars of these communities; communities are dependent on them.”

And while the intersection in Port Huron-Sarnia is better than most of the most, the parking lot of Sarnia Duty Free is almost empty on Friday in May.

Tania Lee, who runs the shop with her family, says that this has become the new standard.

On the Easter weekend – usually one of their most busy of the year, how the Canadians use the break to stop by in a favorite restaurant and go to a service in Port Huron – there were only a few cars, and the sale was not the way they should be, she says.

“We suffer from collateral damage at the border,” says Ms. Lee about her second generation family business.

Ms. Lee notes that people who live in border cities often exceed the border several times a week. For example, she has a mailbox in a shipping facility in Port Huron, which she visits regularly, as well as her neighbors.

People all over the Blue Water Bridge also feel the effects, says Mayor Anita Ashford.

She heard from both inhabitants in her city and frustrated the Canadians about the increased tension between the nations.

According to the US Travel Association, a decline in Canadian tourism would cost 10% of Canadian tourism up to 14,000 jobs and USD 2.1 billion (1.56 billion GBP).

Michigan is one of the places that will see the main load of these effects. In 2023, according to tourism officers, Canadian visitors spent a collective $ 238 million in the state.

This money is essential for border cities like Port Huron, says his mayor.

“I hope the people in Washington will understand what they do to people,” she says. “We are not responsible for the [federal] The government brought us into this position and now we have to deal with it with respect. “

“We need each other,” she says.