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Agreed USA is responding - but only because it is forced to.
Reshoring chip production because it is all but inevitable China will retake Taiwan.
The problem with rare earths is not accessing the raw materials, but refining them.
Greenland is zero help with that.
It will take a decade, at least, to restore reliable refined rare earths supply independent of China and that will cost huge sums of money. In the meantime the US military industrial combine is on its knees begging to China for continued supply. China is maintaining its ban on any rare earth exports that could reach US military suppliers.
USA is reacting defensively to a China that has already captured and dominated most global supply chains. That is no easy thing to reverse. It is nigh impossible.
Certainly the outcome is not yet determined, but it is far from certain USA will retain global hegemony. Many of Trumps actions indicate retreat into regional hegemony while leaving the rest of the world to defend itself, or align with China. Few countries can afford to cease trade with China because China offers the best trading option for most manufactured goods and commodities because it processes commodities into manufactured goods more efficiently than any other nation.
I don't think it's inevitable China will retake Taiwan. The operation in Venezuela will have given them cause for concern with regards to US capabilities, and now China, Russia and Iran no longer have ready access to Venezuelan oil.
You make a good point about refining rare earth minerals, but Tesla just put a lithium refinery in Texas online in 2.5 years so I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that the US can up its game here. That is, if a trade agreement is not reached between the US and China – which it easily could. Neither party wants war after all.
I don't think the US is reacting defensively per se – Venezuela was a very forward move for example – but I appreciate the steps finally being taken to reduce leverage and the potential risk to the US economy from a move on Taiwan. I also disagree the US is leaving the rest of the world to defend itself. Those may be the optics but they're not the reality. And the news about Europe's trade deal with India suggests they have finally realized they need to diversify their supply chain too, however long that will take.
-Tom
Not just yet. Pretty much everything the US is doing right now is to reduce that risk, reduce the leverage that China have, and deter or delay them from taking action in Taiwan. It will take time to bring large scale chip manufacturing back to the US, but it is happening. The same with rare earth minerals (see: Greenland). There is some time to achieve these things, it's not like the US is just giving up.
-Tom