The billionaire owner of a bridge connecting Michigan with Canada met Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, on Monday hours before President Trump lambasted a competing span, in the latest flashpoint in the deteriorating relationship between the United States and Canada.
Matthew Moroun, a Detroit-based trucking magnate whose family has operated the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, for decades, met with Mr. Lutnick in Washington on Monday, according to two officials briefed on the meeting who requested anonymity to discuss a private conversation.
Soon after that meeting, Mr. Trump threatened to block the opening of a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, which could take away toll revenue from Mr. Moroun’s bridge, if Canadian officials did not address a long list of grievances.
The Moroun family has for decades mounted legal challenges to block or delay the competing project, known as Gordie Howe International Bridge. One of the challenges reached the Canadian Supreme Court, while the family has also lobbied extensively against it.
A spokesman for the Commerce Department declined to comment on the meeting with Mr. Lutnick. A representative for Mr. Moroun’s company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The new bridge was fully paid for by Canada but is owned in part by Michigan, and is expected to ease congestion in the busiest trade corridor between the United States and Canada.
In a rambling social media post on Monday evening, Mr. Trump threatened to stop the bridge from its scheduled opening later this year, saying that he wants to punish Canada for exploiting the United States and for reviving its trade relationship with China, among other purported transgressions.
“The fact that Canada will control what crosses the Gordie Howe bridge, and owns the land on both sides, is unacceptable to the President,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s also unacceptable that more of this bridge isn’t being built with more American-made materials.”
She added: “This is just another example of President Trump putting America’s interest first.”
Tyler Pager is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.
The post Bridge Owner Lobbied Administration Before Trump Blasted Competing Span to Canada appeared first on New York Times.
