The logistical and engineering wonder on the frontline of Trump’s global trade war
The market rollercoaster of the past week – the tariffs, the jeopardy, the brinkmanship – has highlighted the remarkable nature of an interconnected world we take for granted.
There are many frontlines in this global trade war and the port of Duluth-Superior is one. It is a logistical and an engineering wonder.
In the northernmost part of the United States, near the border with Canada, there is no seaport anywhere in the world as far inland as this.
The sea is more than 2,000 miles away, to the east, along the Great Lakes-St Lawrence Seaway System, a binational waterway with a shared border between the US and Canada.
On the portside, vast ocean-going vessels are loaded and unloaded with products which make up the lifeblood of the global economy – iron ore for Canada, cement from Turkey, grain for Algeria and shipping containers packed with “Made in China” products for the American market.
Jayson Hron from the Duluth Seaway Port Authority
My guide is Jayson Hron from the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.
“A vessel that is sailing through the seaway to Duluth crosses the international boundary nearly 30 times on that journey,” he tells me.
Duluth-Superior generates $1.6bn (£1.2bn) a year, supports more than 7,000 jobs, and these are nervous times.
“It’s certainly a season of more unpredictability than we’ve seen in the last few years. Unpredictability is bad for ports and bad for supply chains,” Mr Hron says.
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Tariffs mean friction and friction is bad for everyone. Approximately 30 million metric tons of waterborne cargo moves through the port each season, placing it among the nation’s top 20 ports in terms of cargo flow.
“Iron ore is the port’s king cargo by tonnage,” Mr Hron says. “It makes up about half of our waterborne tonnage total each year. It is mined 65 miles/104km from the port, on Minnesota’s Iron Range.”
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But not all of the iron ore sails to domestic mills. Almost a third sailed to Canada in 2024, now subject to the trade war levies between the two nations.
“A fifth of our port’s overall waterborne tonnage was Canadian trade in 2024, with the vast majority of it export tonnage from the US to Canada,” Mr Hron says.
Geography combined with American and Canadian engineering over many decades has made this port a logistical wonder. From the high seas, cargo can be imported and exported to and from the heart of the North American continent.
The Federal Yoshino will carry American grain destined for Algeria
On the dockside, the Federal Yoshino is being prepared for her cargo. She will leave here soon with American grain destined for Algeria.
The port straddles two states. The John A Blatnik interstate bridge links Duluth with Superior and Minnesota with Wisconsin.
A network of roads and rails links the port with the country beyond, and an hour to the southeast are the fields of gold in Wisconsin.
Trump suggests farmers can sell more products at home
Last year, soybeans were the biggest export from the US to China, totalling nearly $12.8bn (£10bn) in trade.
Donald Trump has suggested American farmers can make up the difference by selling more of their products at home.
In March, he posted on social media: “To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd. Have fun!”
But there is no solid domestic market for soybeans – America’s second largest crop. Two-fifths of the exports go to China. No other export market comes close – 11% to Mexico and 9% to the EU – also now facing potential tariff barriers too.
Local farmer Tanner Johnson
‘These fields are rows of gold’
Tanner Johnson is a local farmer and soybean industry representative. He talks regularly to politicians in Washington DC.
“They don’t look like much in your hand. But these fields are rows of gold,” he says.
Farmers across this country voted overwhelmingly for Mr Trump. Is there anxiety? Absolutely.
“I don’t want to put an exact timeline on when doors around here will close. But in the short term I think most farmers can handle it. Long-term – a year, year plus – things are going to look a lot more bleak around here,” Mr Johnson tells me.
Here, they mostly seem to hold on to a trust in Mr Trump. There remains a belief that his wild negotiating with their livelihoods will pay off. But it’s high stakes and with an uncertainty that no one needs.
Which global leader has been the most frequent visitor to the Oval Office during Donald Trump’s first year back in power?
Not a head of state. But Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA.
The boss of world football’s governing body was back in the White House this week, and sport wasn’t even on the agenda.
And yet it still came back to football and today’s World Cup draw – even after the signing of a peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Mr Infantino was picked out in the audience as Mr Trump diverted from trumpeting ending another conflict to boasting about World Cup ticket sales.
Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino stand next to the FIFA Club World Cup trophy. Pic: Reuters
“A great leader in sports and a great gentleman,” the US president said.
So it’s certainly not just Mr Infantino dishing out the flattery. But there is plenty of that, aligning himself with the MAGA agenda going back into the first term.
“Together we will make not only America great again,” he said in January, “but also the entire world”.
There is often bemusement when Mr Infantino pops up wherever Mr Trump is – from a Saudi-backed financial conference in Miami to an official visit to Saudi Arabia and the Gaza peace summit in Egypt.
There isn’t a non-American with such prominent proximity to the presidency. And it’s being used to shortcut decision-making for the World Cup, with direct access to the most powerful man on Earth to help smooth the tournament’s delivery.
Mr Infantino knows how to chime with Mr Trump’s talking points, recently telling critics to lay off the president because he has a mandate from winning the 2024 election.
“We should all support what he is doing because I think he is doing pretty good,” Mr Infantino said.
Pic: AP
For a man who was largely known a decade ago for drawing balls for the Champions League, the ascent to the peak of power has been rapid and only made possible by scandals knocking out presumptive leaders.
It will be a draw on Friday that cements this unlikeliest of bonds when the World Cup schedule is determined at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
So much has been done to flatter Mr Trump, to pander to his passions.
The one thing he craves more than anything is a peace prize.
And after missing out on the foremost, illustrious Nobel version – despite an endorsement from Mr Infantino – FIFA created its own to hand out on Friday without any announced process for nominations or selection.
And if there is one song to indulge Mr Trump with it is the unlikely YMCA. The 1970s disco group Village People have been hired for the draw ceremony.
Expect the Trump dance. Expect the unexpected. Expect uneasy moments as Mr Trump takes centre stage alongside Mr Infantino.
How freewheeling will the presidential address become?
And is it all too political, even for a football organisation rarely untouched by politics?
Pic: AP
It has created awkward moments when Mr Trump has been disparaging towards Democrat-run cities attacked for not being safe.
“Gianni, can I say we will move (matches)?” Mr Trump asked on live TV in the Oval Office.
“I don’t think you’re going to have this problem. But we’re going to move the event to some place where it’s going to be appreciated and safe.”
Usually FIFA dismisses questions about moving World Cup venues this late on, but Mr Infantino responded in part: “Safety and security is the number one priority.”
Usually, FIFA would be working to ensure all fans can attend its tournament, but the governing body is not dissenting against the block on visitors from Iran and Haiti.
The rhetoric of Mr Trump – framed around security – collides with FIFA’s idealism about uniting the world through football, with everyone being welcome.
And this is not just about the US. For the first time this is a World Cup being co-hosted by three nations, even if Mr Infantino has paid more visits to just one of them.
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But the leaders of Canada and Mexico are due at the draw here in DC.
They’ll hope the football ceremony provides some respite from Mr Trump’s threats of a military strike on Mexico over drugs or deepening the trade war with Canada.
There is a peace prize to award, after all.
A celebration of all things Donald Trump.
And at some point, the teams will discover they will be drawn to play at the tournament next summer.
Because with Gianni Infantino it has to come back to football, the whole purpose of his role.
Even if his political alliances can seem more prominent than what happens on the pitch.
US
Ed Bambas: 88-year-old veteran who worked full-time at supermarket given £1.2m to help him retire
An 88-year-old US army veteran who works full time at a grocery store to make ends meet will receive over $1.7m (£1.2m) to help him retire.
Ed Bambas went viral after Australian influencer Samuel Weidenhofer shared a video of Bambas opening up about his financial struggles on social media.
In the video, which has received over 269,000 likes on Facebook, Bambas explains how he retired from General Motors in 1999, but lost his pension in 2012 after the company went bankrupt.
He also lost his healthcare coverage – just as his wife was sick. She died seven years ago.
Bambas was left with just $10,000 (£7,500) of his life insurance.
He tears up as he says: “So I sold my house, sold the property I had, we made it through.”
Weidenhofer, who uses his platform to help raise money for people in need, set up a GoFundMe page after speaking with Bambas.
His son Michael said he didn’t know his dad had gone viral until he received messages from friends and family.
Speaking to Sky’s sister company, NBC News, Michael said that his dad had lost himself after his mother’s death.
“Right after my mum passed away, I’d go over to the house and I’d find him basically walking around in circles, not knowing what to do with himself.”
He added that: “He took care of my mum for almost 10 years as her primary caretaker.”
Michael explained that his dad started looking for work due to mounting medical bills and that he had been working eight-hour shifts, five days a week, for five years.
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Pic: GoFundMe
Meijer, the Michigan grocery store where Ed Bambas works, said he was a valued team member who connects with customers and adds joy and warmth to the store.
The store said it would offer additional support to Bambas considering recent events.
Weidenhofer says he plans to present Bambas with the money at a ceremony later today.
His son said the money raised means his dad can “start living and doing things for himself.”
“I don’t know how to thank everyone for what they’re doing for my dad. It’s just amazing.”
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