Howard Lutnick, US Secretary of Commerce, met with Matthew Moroun on Monday. Moroun's family owns the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest US-Canada border crossing. For years, they have lobbied against a Canadian-led rival bridge. Within hours, Lutnick relayed the conversation to President Trump. On Tuesday, Trump announced via social media that he would block the Gordie Howe International Bridge, the crossing currently under construction.
The cause-and-effect is unmistakable. The pattern is now familiar.
To understand Team Trump's policymaking, recognize that it is driven by a collection of solo operators animated by petty grievances and zero institutional accountability. No boards. No shareholders. No civic responsibility. Layer in visceral disdain for "globalists," thier outsized egos, chips carried on every shoulder, and a pay-to-play approach to Trump administration pet projects. You arrive at exactly this brand of self-defeating economic nonsense.
This is not incompetence. This is design. And it is about to reshape supply chains, capital allocation, and geopolitical strategy for companies that need to cross US borders and reach international markets.
The Global Great Lakes region, spanning eight US states and two Canadian provinces, generates between $6 trillion and $9.3 trillion in annual GDP. If this region were an independent nation, it would be the world's third-largest economy. The region accounts for roughly 30 percent of combined US-Canadian economic activity, sustains 51 million jobs, and supports 107 million lives.
The Detroit-Windsor border alone moves $300 million in bilateral trade daily through existing infrastructure. This is not theoretical economics. It is the operational backbone of North American manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, and economic security.
Yet Team Trump's response to this economic powerhouse is unambiguous: Drop dead.
Protectionism plays well politically. It performs terribly economically. The promise of protection through isolation is a mirage that obscures harsh realities. Manufacturing supply chains crossing the US-Canada border do not represent abstract trade statistics. They represent real communities, real families, real livelihoods whose prosperity depends on seamless cross-border collaboration.
The Great Lakes region thrives because its manufacturing, agriculture, and logistics sectors have developed integrated, cross-border systems. Blocking a competing bridge does not enhance American competitiveness. It erodes it. It fragments supply chains. It increases transportation costs. It extends delivery times. It invites retaliation from Canada and signals to foreign multinational companies considering investing in America that US infrastructure policy is now subordinate to the real estate interests of Trump administration allies.
Trump's latest move signals the broader economic reality: A new era of persistent tariff volatility and policy uncertainty has arrived.
Three imperatives demand immediate attention from business leaders.
First, supply chain diversification is no longer optional. Companies must develop redundancies across production, sourcing, and distribution. Single-source dependencies become liabilities. Nearshoring, friendshoring, and geographic diversification are operational necessities, not cost luxuries. The era of just-in-time efficiency maximized without redundancy has ended.
Second, interest rates will remain elevated as the US government continues massive deficit spending while tariff policies generate inflationary pressures. Refinancing maturing debt becomes expensive. Capital expenditures require higher hurdle rates. Financial officers must stress-test balance sheets against 5%-8% scenarios.
Third, government relationships function as critical infrastructure. The Lutnick-Moroun example demonstrates that administration access determines outcomes. Border-region companies must actively participate in policy discussions. C-suite executives must allocate time to stakeholder relations.
This is where strategic communications becomes essential operational infrastructure. In an era when petty grievances drive trillion-dollar policy decisions, understanding the political economy of your sector is no longer a luxury. It is core risk management.
The Global Great Lakes region can either become a casualty of Team Trump's real estate vendettas or an anchor of continental resilience. That choice resides with business leadership willing to engage strategically in an era of permanent disruption.
Prepare accordingly.
-Marc
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Marc A. Ross is a geopolitical strategist and communications advisor. He is the founder of Caracal Global and is writing a book entitled Globalization and American Politics: How International Economics Redefined American Foreign Policy and Domestic Politics.
