Don Heflin is a retired career U.S. diplomat and currently the executive director of the Edward R. Murrow Center and Senior Fellow of Diplomatic Practice at Tufts University’s Fletcher School. He lives in Ipswich with his wife, a North Shore native. Cricket Editor Erika Brown recently sat down with Hefflin to learn how global events could impact our back yards.
Erika Brown: Ambassador Heflin, we’re lucky to have you living here. There's just a handful of former US ambassadors or diplomats in Massachusetts—four by my count, including you. And you’re originally from Alabama, an “Alabamian.” How did you end up here, and what do you think of New England?
Don Heflin: Well, first, I married a woman from Ipswich. She joined me for my last two postings in Mexico City and New Delhi, and part of the deal was we’d retire here. Her family’s large and mostly on the North Shore. We lived in Lynn for a couple years, which we really enjoyed, and now we’re fixing up a farmhouse in Ipswich. When I retired two years ago, I was fortunate to land at Fletcher, training the next generation of diplomats. And as for New England, well, the people are lovely, and there’s lots of interesting things to see and do. But, but I’m still not very happy with the weather. I’m still adjusting.
EB : When someone asks about your career in the foreign service, how do you explain it?
Heflin: Well, if you know someone who devours foreign news or someone who read nonfiction as a kid after bedtime by flashlight—that’s the type who becomes a foreign service officer. When I showed up in Washington DC (in 1987) for training, I was struck by how similar we recruits all were—curious about the world, eager to travel, open to languages. One thing that frustrates those of us who do this kind of work is how often Americans try to solve problems without looking at how other countries may have already handled them.
EB : It’s true that we don't often look at what's happening outside our own country. How do things that happen in the world affect life here on Cape Ann?
Heflin: What’s happening here mirrors what’s happening everywhere. Globalization over the last 20–30 years has left many people feeling left behind. That frustration fuels both left- and right-wing populism, and we’re now seeing cracks in the post-World War II global order. Nation-states—Brazil, Hungary, the U.S.—are asserting themselves as independent actors. That model can work, but the transition is messy.
EB : In August, you had a viral moment ahead of President Donald Trump’s Ukraine summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. What happened?
Heflin: It was funny because coming up on the Summit, people were discussing whether the summit was a good idea, either bashing or supporting it and debating whether the Russians or the Ukrainians wanted too much. Apparently, I was the first to say that none of it would work because the normal diplomatic groundwork had NOT been done—it was clearly for show. Serious summits take weeks of preparation. This one had none, and sure enough, it produced nothing.
Here in the US, we get a new president every four to eight years, and the new administration comes with new ideas, new policies, and they turn to the professionals in government and say, ‘Listen, the election's happened, and this is what we're going to want from now on.’
When Trump took office the first time, the Foreign Service and other government agencies adjusted. This time around a lot of the people who know how to make all that work have been fired. As a result, when the politicians like President Trump or Secretary (Marco) Rubio or others turn to the pros and say, "Okay, this is what we want to do” regarding, say, Ukraine, the people who know how to do it are gone.
EB : Let’s turn to tariffs. Here on Cape Ann, we have everything from commercial fishing to biotech companies. And here with the Manchester Cricket, we’re facing big tariffs on newsprint which all comes from Canada. What’s happening?
Heflin: Historically, tariffs raised money but weren’t used to punish politics. I think Trump was pretty upfront in the campaign about some of what he's doing now, like cracking down on immigration. Tariffs were mentioned only a couple times. Certainly it wasn’t clear they’d be a big part of things now.
If you go back to the late 1800s, there was a lot of debate in this country about tariffs. Remember, at the time the US didn't have an income tax. They were used to raise revenue before there was an income tax. But they weren’t used to support domestic industries, like the coal industry.
Now we’re using them to target countries we disagree with—Brazil, for example. That’s new, and it’s messy. For instance, if you put tariffs on India, and you say, ‘Well, it's because you treat us unfairly when we try to trade in India.' The Indian government can say, 'Okay, okay. We can change that if it's that important to you.' Now, let's ask ourselves, what is Brazil supposed to do? Decide all of a sudden that their former president, who has been convicted by a court of law, should be set free just so they can get out from under US tariffs? We're really in uncharted territory on tariffs.
The real problem is cost. Newsprint comes entirely from Canada, so tariffs just make newspapers more expensive when there’s no U.S. producer to protect. Same with lumber and aluminum—both key to housing. That drives up costs for everyone, including here in New England.
Now, Massachusetts is a knowledge economy. We don’t produce much raw materials, so tariffs ripple into higher prices for almost everything we use. And when other countries retaliate, our high-tech exports—software, biotech—get hit, too. Tariffs are a blunt instrument. They are not a surgeon’s scalpel.
EB : Years ago, I learned Canada is our largest global trading partner. That makes me think of tourism, which is a big part of our local economy and Canadian visitors are big business for us, right?
Heflin: Definitely. Canadians have long vacationed here—it’s warmer, and they love our coastal towns and beaches. But anger over tariffs has had real effects and now they’re skipping the US and flying to Mexico for their beaches and vacations.
Recently, I learned the Buffalo Bills football stadium, which is close to the Canadian border, usually gets 15% of its season ticket holders from Canada. This year they stayed home, and local businesses are hurting. That’s globalization in action. And if Canadians avoid U.S. trips, that’s money out of our pockets here in New England and elsewhere.
EB : So even in places like Cape Ann, these global shifts really hit home.
Heflin: Exactly. America’s relationship with the world isn’t abstract—it affects daily life here, from the price of housing and newspapers to who shows up at the beach in summer.
EB : Thank you so much Don.We’re excited to read your first column.
Heflin: Thank you. I’m looking forward to it.
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