‘So much uncertainty’: Michigan’s Arab American businesses navigate Trump’s Canada trade war

Tariffs and the souring of ties between Washington and Ottawa are complicating life for Arab American businesses in Dearborn, Michigan, the city with the largest Arab American community in the country. Yemeni cafes have become its leading industry, and Qahwah House, which runs 32 branches nationwide including three in Dearborn, has put on hold a planned Toronto location. Marketing director Mohamed Ahmed says the company already holds the registrations and license it needs but wants to be sure the move is feasible. That caution follows Donald Trump's July announcement of 50% tariffs on Canadian imports. Ahmed estimates about 10% of the company's Dearborn sales come from Canadians, according to The Guardian.

The stakes are wide, since Canada is Michigan's biggest trading partner. Visit Detroit's Brett McWethy says Canadian tourism to the region is down roughly 30% compared with early 2025 and has stayed there. Canada's retaliatory measures on U. S. goods took effect September 8, and talks last month did not settle the dispute. Automakers, including Ford at its Rouge plant in Dearborn, have also felt the impact.

Still, some ties endure. Robert Nelson, a University of Windsor history professor who studies food and the border, says Arab Canadians make up most Canadian diners in Dearborn's Arab restaurants. Those with family or jobs there keep crossing, though some Windsor residents travel less in order to support local businesses. He argues that penalizing small owners over federal policy is hard to defend.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at The Guardian →