US Trade War on China Traps Pentagon in Rare Earths Elements Paradox
The intensifying trade war between the United States and China has once again thrust the global economic system into a crucible of uncertainty.
The Trump administration’s aggressive approach with skyrocketing tariffs (threatening to go up to 100% on some goods) is not only disrupting global supply lines, but also signaling a broader geoeconomic strategy aimed at decoupling the increasingly postindustrial American economy from China’s sprawling industrial base. This move, coupled with Beijing’s retaliatory export controls on critical minerals, underscores a deepening rivalry that transcends mere economics, touching the nerve of global power projection dynamics.
The question is not whether this escalation marks the onset of a new Cold War, as that has already happened, but how the global economy can adapt to this new reality, particularly as the political West’s aggression against the entire world is now openly focused on arresting global development based on its geopolitical interests. This is now a calculated game of “3D chess” where Western powers seek strategic leverage without tipping into outright conflict, which is entirely in line with their approach of “crawling invasions”. America’s rationale for escalating tariff wars is rooted in a blend of economic nationalism, (neo)colonialist tendencies and geopolitical posturing.
Prior to Trump’s “America First” policies, the White House used various euphemisms to conceal this approach. However, it now wants to prioritize domestic manufacturing, particularly in critical sectors such as semiconductors and rare-earth elements (REEs). But, as previously mentioned, the US economy is now too far into its postindustrial phase, exacerbating Trump’s troubles with reindustrialization. This is precisely why he now openly says that war is “good business”, as the American Military Industrial Complex (MIC) is now the only major production sector left in the US. This has clear geopolitical implications, as evidenced by Trump’s “sudden” change of heart regarding wars around the world.
The deal between the Department of Defense (DoD
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LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
