In the northwest corner of Washington State lies a quirky U.S. exclave so dependent on Canada’s goodwill that the strain of President Donald Trump’s tariff war is inescapable – in the sole grocery store, at any of the three eateries, and for the many residents who never voted for him.
Locals and visitors alike in Point Roberts, Wash., are increasingly worried about how this unusual waterfront border town that has embodied the two countries’ interdependency can survive the hostility brewing on both sides.
“This was really devastating,” said Tamra Hansen, a longtime Point Roberts resident and business owner whose eyes welled with tears as she described her two restaurants on the brink. “If we don’t get the support from the Canadians, this town will die.”
Known as a geographic oddity since the boundary with Canada was drawn in 1846, this detached five-square-mile community – called an exclave because it’s completely separated from …