The Gordie Howe International Bridge is a new cable-stayed international bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

LANSING — Governor Gretchen Whitmer told reporters Tuesday that she is in communication with President Donald Trump’s staff and administration following the president’s threat Monday evening to block a long-awaited bridge from opening due to a trade dispute with Canada.

The Gordie Howe Bridge began construction in October of 2018 in an effort to ease congestion on existing links between the U.S. and Canada, with the Federal Highway Administration identifying the gateway between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario as the busiest commercial land border crossing between Canada and the U.S.

While the bridge was expected to open this year, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he would not allow it to begin operations until the United States is “fully compensated for everything we have given” Canada, demanding negotiations for terms to give the United States ownership of “at least one half of this asset.” The crossing is jointly-owned by Canada and Michigan.

Following a bill signing Tuesday, Whitmer told reporters that she’d been having “a lot of conversations at the staff level” but did not want to put too much into those conversations until she speaks with the President directly.

“The Canadians have paid for the bridge,” Whitmer said. “The bridge was built with organized labor, union labor on both sides of the bridge, including Michiganders. It is a really important part of our economy, the largest crossing in North America, and so it is important that it continues to move forward and open up on time, and that’s my expectation.”

She noted that Michigan Speaker of the House Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) is in Washington D.C. to meet with Trump administration officials, and expected that he would raise the issue in those discussions.

Hall’s press secretary, Jeff Wiggins, confirmed that members of Michigan’s House Republican Caucus would be meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, noting that the bridge would likely be a topic of discussion.

Hall defended the President’s threats to The Detroit News, arguing it provided the U.S. with a lot of leverage in trade negotiations with Canada, a similar rationale to that made by former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, who is running for U.S. Senate.

U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township) also defended the deal, calling Trump the “best dealmaker in the world.”

Whitmer noted that her Republican predecessor, Rick Snyder, negotiated the deal for the Gordie Howe International Bridge, sharing hopes that he would share information encouraging the Trump administration to allow the effort to move forward.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Regional Chamber issued a statement on the threat by Trump. also noting the bipartisan nature of the project, as well as the international cooperation that made it possible.

“This project would not have been possible without the partnership of the Canadian government, which paid to construct the new bridge,” Sandy K. Baruah, president and CEO of the chamber said. “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.”