Trump tariff threats partly to blame for dip in Windsor-Detroit tunnel traffic, says CEO

CEO Tal Czudner says Windsor-Detroit tunnel has seen an 8 or 9 per cent decrease daily traffic.

The Windsor-Detroit Tunnel Corporation has seen a nearly nine per cent decrease in daily traffic through the tunnel over the last four weeks as compared to the same time last year according to its CEO, Tal Czudner.

“[It’s] actually less of a drop than the other border crossings,” Czudner told CBC Windsor. 

“We talk quite often, and other border crossings are down around 14, 15, 16 per cent.”

For the Windsor area, Czudner says the drop equates to about 1,000 fewer people each day.

Czudner says he believes U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to levy hefty tariffs and his frequent comments about Canada becoming the 51st state are among the main reasons for the decline.

Trump said Monday that he will go forward with a 25 per cent tariff on most imports from Canada next week, saying the country has ripped off the U.S. for too long and it’s time to put a stop to it.

“This is an abuse that took place for many, many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “The tariffs will go forward, yes, and we’re going to make up a lot of territory,”

Tariff threats have ‘thrown quite a tizzy into our country’

According to Czudner, the tariff threats have “thrown quite a tizzy into our country, so I think we’re seeing a stay Canadian and buy Canadian — kind of a Canada pride mentality all across our country, and I think you’re seeing a lot of the discretionary trips staying home.”

Source: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/windsor-detroit-tunnel-traffic-1.7468314