The Obama administration made Canada pay for the entirety of a $2 billion border bridge by refusing to cover the U.S. customs plaza.
President Donald Trump is currently pushing to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall; the wall was a major cornerstone of his presidential campaign. He signed an executive order Wednesday starting the wall’s construction. “A nation without borders is not a nation,” Trump said. “Beginning today, the U.S. gets back control of its borders.” (RELATED: Trump Signs Executive Orders To Construct Border Wall And Increase Deportations)
Canada agreed to pay for the new Detroit-Windsor bridge, U.S. customs building and the access roads around the bridge in 2015, according to The Globe and Mail. Ottawa failed to get the U.S. to pay for the $250 million customs building, and the Canadian government had already agreed to pay for 95 percent of the bridge’s costs. The bridge is scheduled to be finished in 2020.
In 2012, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper insisted the customs building was “the responsibility of the U.S. government.” Washington, D.C., only said the U.S. would operate and staff the building — not pay for it — and Canada caved.
The original agreement between Michigan and Canada included a provision stating that if U.S. federal funds weren’t available for the customs building, Canada and its private partnerships would pay, according to CBC News.
Trump hasn’t explained how exactly the U.S. will get Mexico to pay for the wall, but he hinted Thursday American taxpayers could pay for it initially. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said the wall could cost anywhere from $12 to $15 billion.
Then-Sens. Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton all helped pass a 2006 law authorizing construction of 700 miles of fencing along the southern border. (RELATED: Top Democrats Voted For The Border Wall Trump Is Building)
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