Page 6: of Marine News Magazine (July 2026)

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OpEd

Leading Off

A Canadian Toll on U.S. Commerce

By Capt. Paul C. LaMarre III

The Administration has made American manufactur- Canada collects tolls on cargo moving to and from U.S. ing, shipbuilding, and supply chain resilience national Great Lakes ports, while the United States provides toll- priorities. The Great Lakes region is home to steel, autos, free access through its portion of the same route.

agriculture, energy infrastructure, defense suppliers, and Ocean vessels traveling between the Atlantic Ocean and advanced manufacturing. The St. Lawrence Seaway carries U.S. Great Lakes ports must transit both U.S. and Canadi- maritime commerce into that region. an locks and channels. The United States and Canada built

Recent events in the Strait of Hormuz have reminded the St. Lawrence Seaway together. The United States has policymakers and the public that maritime transportation invested billions of dollars in the Seaway and Great Lakes matters. Strategic waterways matter because transporta- navigation system and continues to do so through the con- tion costs matter. Every additional cost imposed on cargo struction of the new Soo Lock, one of the largest inland movement affects trade ? ows, investment decisions, and navigation infrastructure projects in the nation. Congress economic competitiveness. waived collection of the U.S. share of commercial tolls in

One such cost receives far less attention closer to home. 1986 and directed the federal government to pursue dis- © Wilding/AdobeStock 6 | MN July 2026