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OPINION:
They call it a trade war for a reason, and the latest chapter in this seemingly endless saga has hit full tilt. Beijing has once again ignited the global supply chain, sending markets on a dizzying ride of volatility.
By recently tightening export controls on seven critical rare earth elements and the technologies used to refine them, China made one thing crystal clear: Nothing moves without Xi Jinping’s approval. This isn’t a coincidence; it’s calculated leverage designed to remind the world just how dependent it still is on Beijing’s grip over the most essential materials of the modern economy.
Within hours of the recent move by the Chinese Communist Party, President Trump fired back by threatening 100% tariffs on Chinese imports and calling Beijing’s move “hostile.” Markets shuddered. Algorithms dumped stocks, ETFs unraveled, and a sharp sell-off followed.
Behind the noise was something deeper: a deliberate effort by the president to force a long-overdue reckoning on global trade. For years, the United States and its allies have tolerated a wildly unbalanced system in which China manufactures, refines and controls the inputs that drive our economy while America consumes. Mr. Trump’s tariffs, though controversial, are part of a broader recalibration pressing not just China but also the world to revalue fairness, reciprocity and sovereignty in trade.
The truth is, tariffs do more than send a message; they also change behavior. They create economic tension, yes, but that tension sparks movement. By raising the cost of dependency, tariffs are forcing companies and countries to rethink supply chains, diversify sourcing and accelerate the reshoring of critical industries outsourced decades ago. In that sense, the president’s strategy is not merely reactive; it’s also restorative. It’s about compelling the global market to reprice the risks of overreliance on authoritarian economies and reestablishing America’s industrial backbone as a matter of economic and national security.
Rare earths are at the heart of that strategy. They power everything that defines modern life: electric vehicles, missiles, smartphones, data centers and the chips that fuel artificial intelligence. When China tightens the tap, the world feels it instantly. That’s precisely why Mr. Trump’s firm stance is justified and necessary. The world’s most critical supply chain can’t be allowed to remain hostage to a single country’s whim. For decades, the U.S. led this race by mining, refining and manufacturing the very materials that made technological dominance possible. Then, through complacency and regulatory paralysis, we handed away that advantage.
Now, Mr. Trump’s push for economic nationalism and industrial revitalization is not isolationism; it’s insurance. It’s about reclaiming control of the levers that make innovation and defense possible. The United States currently mines about 45,000 metric tons of rare earth concentrate each year but refines hardly any of it domestically. We have the resources but not the infrastructure. Rebuilding that capability will take time, likely 10 to 15 years, and the political will to see it through. That means this effort cannot end with one administration, no matter how determined.
The president’s resolve has set the foundation, but it will take sustained commitment across multiple administrations, Republican or Democratic, to finish the job. America’s return to self-sufficiency in critical minerals requires generational discipline: streamlined permitting, stable tax incentives, public-private partnerships and long-term defense procurement guarantees that make investment viable. Industrial revival is not a campaign promise; it’s a national mission.
The market’s latest swings remind us of vulnerability and opportunity. China’s export restrictions revealed just how fragile global dependence has become. Mr. Trump’s response, though jarring to the market, is the necessary counterpunch, an assertive reset aimed at restoring equilibrium and reclaiming control. Rare earths are the new oil, and America can no longer afford to rent its energy from its greatest rival.
Mr. Trump’s tariffs may be the spark, but it will take years of steady leadership and unwavering focus to turn that spark into lasting independence. The first shots of this economic war have already been fired. The question now is whether the nation has the patience and resolve to see it through. We can still recover from our sins of the past, but only if we stop treating industrial strength like a slogan and start rebuilding it like it’s a strategy.
• Seth Denson is a business and market analyst and author of “The Cure: A Blueprint for Solving America’s Healthcare Crisis.”
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