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.
Elon Musk’s social media post claiming Donald Trump is in files relating to the disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has been removed.
The tech billionaire made the allegation on X as he traded blows with the US president in a dramatic public row.
In the post, which now appears to have been deleted, Musk said: “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.
“Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”
He gave no evidence for the claim, which was dismissed by the White House – with the post disappearing from his social media platform by Sunday.
Users clicking on the message – first posted on Thursday – were instead greeted with: “Hmm…this page doesn’t exist. Try searching for something else.”
Epstein killed himself in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors.
File pic: Reuters
Musk and Mr Trump’s relationship broke down publicly on Thursday, just days after the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive left his role as a special government employee.
In a fiery exchange, Musk posted a series of messages on X criticising the president’s signature tax and spending bill as a “big ugly spending bill”.
President Trump posted on Truth Social, saying Musk had been “wearing thin” and claimed he “asked him to leave” his government position – something Musk denied.
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Musk then hit back with his claim about the US president appearing in the Epstein files.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the comment in a statement.
“This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted,” she said.
“The president is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.”
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The spat hit Tesla shares, which closed down 14.3% on Thursday, losing about $150bn (£111bn) in value.
In an interview with ABC News, Mr Trump was asked about reports a phone call was scheduled between him and Musk on Friday.
He reportedly said: “You mean the man who has lost his mind?”
Donald Trump has said Elon Musk has “lost his mind”, according to US media, as the White House reveals the president is not interested in speaking to him.
In a phone interview with ABC News, the US president was asked about reports that a phone call was scheduled on Friday between Musk and himself.
“You mean the man who has lost his mind?” he is said to have responded.
A White House official has said Mr Trump is not interested in talking to his former ally amid a bitter feud between the two, adding that no phone call is planned for the day.
It comes as a source familiar with the situation has told Sky News the president is considering selling his Tesla, in a further sign that no resolution to the explosive bust-up is in sight.
Mr Trump purchased a Tesla earlier this year, describing the company as Elon’s “baby”.
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‘Wheels come off’ Musk-Trump relationship
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The pair’s relationship broke down publicly on Thursday, just days after Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk left his role as a special government employee.
In a fiery exchange, Musk posted a series of messages on X criticising the president’s signature tax bill as a “big ugly spending bill”.
President Trump posted on Truth Social that Musk had been “wearing thin” and claimed he “asked him to leave” his government position, something Musk denied.
Elon Musk then hit back, alleging the president “is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.”
He gave no evidence for the claim, and it was dismissed by the White House.
In a statement, it called the bust-up an “unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.”
Read more:
Musk says Trump appears in Epstein files as row explodes
The extraordinary spat minute-by-minute
The big, beautiful bust-up everyone knew was coming
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Trump hits out at Musk
The bill at the centre of the spat was passed by the House Republicans in May and has been described by the president as a “big, beautiful bill”.
The president said to reporters in the White House on Thursday that Musk “knew the inner workings of the bill better than anybody sitting here”.
“He had no problem with it. All of a sudden, he had a problem and he only developed the problem when he found out we’re going to have to cut the EV mandate.”
Musk then denied this, saying: “False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!”
The spat hit Tesla shares, which closed down 14.3% on Thursday, losing about $150bn (£111bn) in value.
Musk also said SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft “immediately” after Mr Trump threatened to cancel government contracts with Musk’s businesses.
Hours after issuing his threat, however, Musk heeded advice from X users telling him to “cool down” and posted: “Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon”.
The row between two of the most powerful men in America comes a week after Musk left his position in the government, where he spearheaded a controversial cost-cutting department, DOGE – the Department of Government Efficiency.
They were once the best of friends, but last night that came to an end – and it all unfolded online as people across the world looked on… and retweeted.
Tension between Elon Musk and Donald Trump had been building for several days after the SpaceX billionaire criticised the US president’s signature tax bill.
While initially it remained cordial, the president suggested his former backer and adviser missed being in government and suffered from “Trump derangement syndrome”, leading to a sudden and dramatic deterioration in relations between the pair.
They have two of the largest platforms in the world, and last night, they turned them on each other. While much of Europe slept through it, here is every insult and barb as it happened… so far.
6.39pm: ‘Big ugly spending bill’
Musk tells Trump his “big ugly spending bill” will make the economic situation worse.
Five minutes later he retweets a video in which he says the bill will increase the US’s deficit to $2.5 trillion (£1.85 trn).
AT 6.48pm he shares a post about the bill’s popularity, simply saying: “Kill bill”.
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‘Wheels come off’ Musk-Trump relationship
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6.49pm: Trump’s ‘body double’
Earlier in the evening, Musk reshares a series of posts (dating back to 2012) from Trump’s X account, including ones saying deficits should not be allowed.
He then reshares a post of someone praising him, adding: “Where is the man who wrote these words? Was he replaced by a body double!?”
He then retweets a meme, making light of Trump’s plan, which links to a poll he had run the previous day.
7.23pm: Back to the bill
Musk starts tweeting about the “big ugly spending bill” again, saying members of Congress didn’t even have time to read it before it was passed.
He continues to tweet about this for most of the night, including accusing the government of “spending America into bankruptcy”.
7.30pm: Who is right?
Musk retweets a poll that shows 76% of 1.5 million voters think he is right in his spat with the president.
7.37pm: Elon was ‘wearing thin’
Trump shares a post on his Truth Social site that accuses Musk of going “crazy” after the president took away his EV mandate.
Trump says he asked Musk to leave his position within the White House. Pic: TruthSocial
Musk responds by sharing a number of former interviews, including a video from 2021 where he says the industry does not need EV tax credits.
Trump then shares a post in which he writes the “easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts”.
8.10pm: The Epstein ‘bomb’
Arguably the largest moment in their fight – Musk accuses Trump of being in the Epstein files.
He gives no evidence for the claim. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismisses the comment.
9.06pm: Musk ‘turning against me’
Trump says he doesn’t mind Musk turning against him, but adds that “he should have done so months ago”.
He then goes on to voice continued support for his bill, calling it “one of the greatest bills ever presented to Congress”.
Read more:
The big beautiful bust up that everyone knew was coming
In a post shared on his Truth Social account, the US president says he doesn’t mind Musk ‘turning against’ him. Pic: TruthSocial
9.09pm: Decommissioning Dragon
Following Trump’s statement about terminating his contracts, Musk tweets: “In light of the President’s statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.”
Dragon is the only US spacecraft available to deliver crew to and from the International Space Station.
Two minutes later he retweets a post calling on Trump to be impeached, adding simply: “Yes.”
Musk and Trump in happier times, on the campaign trail in 2024. Pic: AP
9.29pm: Trump’s tariffs
Musk hits out at Trump’s tariffs, resharing a tweet from someone who called them “stupid”.
“The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year,” he adds.
For the rest of the evening, Musk reshares posts from other users, often adding a laughing face emoji, or the occasional comment, including the words: “If America goes broke, nothing else matters.”
2.20am: Musk says he won’t decommission spacecraft
Just after 2am, an account with a few hundred followers tweets Musk: “This is a shame this back and forth. You are both better than this. Cool off and take a step back for a couple days.”
In response, Musk agrees he won’t decommission the Dragon spacecraft.
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