The logistical and engineering wonder on the frontline of Trump’s global trade war

Published

8 months ago

April 10, 2025

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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.

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.

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.

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.

‘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.

US

Four killed in latest US strike on alleged drug boat

Published

3 hours ago

December 5, 2025

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Four killed in latest US strike on alleged drug boat

Four people have been killed in the latest US strike on an alleged drug boat amid growing unease at the legality of the attacks.

The small vessel, which was hit in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, is the 22nd destroyed by the US military on suspicion of drug trafficking.

It is the first such attack after a pause of nearly three weeks.

At least 87 people have now been killed during Donald Trump‘s “war” with drug cartels, which has also seen vessels targeted in the Caribbean Sea, including near Venezuela.

Video of the strike shows a small boat moving across the water before it is suddenly hit by a large explosion.

The boat is then seen engulfed in flames and billowing smoke as the camera zooms out.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, US Southern Command described those killed as “four male narco-terrorists“.

“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific,” the post said.

The Trump administration has been weighing options to combat what it has portrayed as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro‘s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans.

The socialist leader has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.

Venezuela has said the boat attacks amount to murder – and that President Trump’s true motivation is to oust Mr Maduro and access its oil.

It comes as an investigation in Washington DC has started looking into the very first strike on an alleged drug boat on 2 September in international waters near Venezuela.

On that occasion, US navy admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley is accused of ordering a follow-up strike to kill the survivors.

This reportedly followed demands from defence secretary Pete Hegseth that the navy “kill them all”.

The admiral briefed politicians in a series of closed-door briefings at the US Capitol on Thursday, and denied there was any such order from Mr Hegseth.

Mr Hegseth said the admiral “made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat”.

But speaking on Air Force One last Sunday, the president said he was unaware of the second strike and would not have wanted it, though he backed Mr Hegseth.

A video of the 2 September strike, which killed 11 people, has been shown to politicians, but accounts of its contents split along party lines.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas said the survivors were “trying to flip a boat loaded with drugs bound for United States back over so they could stay in the fight”.

His party colleague, representative Rick Crawford of Arkansas, issued a statement saying the strikes were legal.

But representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said: “What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service.

“You have two individuals in clear distress, without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel.”

They “were killed by the United States”, he said.

Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, echoed his account.

He said the survivors were “basically two shirtless people clinging to the bow of a capsized and inoperable boat, drifting in the water – until the missiles come and kill them”.

Likewise, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was “deeply disturbed” by the video, and called for it to be made public.

“This briefing confirmed my worst fears about the nature of the Trump Administration’s military activities,” he said in a statement.

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Even if the campaign against the suspected drug-trafficking boats had been authorised by Congress, ex-military lawyers said the strike against survivors would be a war crime if the military knowingly killed survivors.

Attacks on combatants who are incapacitated, unconscious or shipwrecked are forbidden by the defence department’s law of war manual – provided the survivors abstain from hostilities and do not attempt to escape.

Firing upon shipwreck survivors is cited as an example of a “clearly illegal” order that should be refused.

US

Donald Trump may get the one thing he craves more than anything today

Published

3 hours ago

December 5, 2025

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Donald Trump may get the one thing he craves more than anything today

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.

“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.

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?

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.

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

Which global leader has visited Oval Office most? The answer might surprise you

Published

9 hours ago