The slide in cross-border traffic comes as some Canadian travel agents and officials say more people are scrapping plans to visit the United States.

Left unanswered at the revenue conference was how Trump's planned budget cuts will impact revenues Michigan receives from the federal government.

Walker Tool & Die president Jeff Umlor says while tariffs help level the playing field with China, the unpredictable implementation hurts his customers.

Over the next five years, the increased tariffs will cost Michigan's auto industry about 3,300 jobs, the economists said. Those job losses will have a multiplier effect on Michigan’s broader economy, meaning there will be a reduction of "approximately 13,000 jobs over the next several years," according to their report.

The state of Michigan's financial picture has eroded considerably since January 2023, when the state was sitting on a $9.2-billion budget surplus.

The impact of tariffs amid a trade war is already showing up in travel from Canada to Michigan. The number of people crossing into the Great Lakes State from Canada fell 11% in February and March.

Consumer attitudes soured in May for the fourth consecutive month, even as President Donald Trump dialed back some tariffs. The reading came in below the level economists expected. Shopper sentiment now hovers near its lowest level since a severe bout of inflation three years ago,

Michigan businesses are navigating tariffs and are making decisions on whether to stockpile, change suppliers and raise prices for customers.

But it is a risky bet. Although trade talks between the US and the EU had been moving slowly, Trump’s threat to put 50 per cent tariffs on all imports from the bloc from June 1 has raised the economic and diplomatic stakes dramatically.