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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
byDan East ( 318230 ) writes:
This is just one of the global tactics companies like China have done to undercut the USA and drive production out of our country. As a capitalistic economy, things that are not profitable to produce in the USA cause production to go out of business due to competition. China flooded the globe with cheap rare-earths, and mining in the USA ceased.
The same thing happened with oil several years ago, when fracking in the USA resulted in huge numbers of small companies springing up and making money off oil again.
byDarkOx ( 621550 ) writes:
Exactly, security demands we produce these things domestically. Reality says we will never be able to do it as cheaply as others are able.
The case here isn't economics it is security. The problem is economics and the only answers are some kind of protectionist strategy. Everyone knows advanced microcomputer technology and communications equipment are necessary parts of the national security picture. It is at least widely suspected that rare earths are needed to make electrification of transportation workable, and that is needed ultimately for environmental and competitive cost reasons as well.
Progressives (Obama), Neo Conservatives (W. Bush), and later Biden had most of quarter century where at various times their party controlled both house. Trump did enjoy that as well for a couple years, but we all know the historic opposition to implementation of his agenda by the establishment, which is naturally course why things are so wild right now. My point is neither main body of American post war of political thinking has managed to do jack-***t or f***-all about American de-industrialization or American supply chain security in the 21st century. The situation has only deteriorated the entire time.
Anyone can disagree with Trump's approach, complaints are easy coming up with real alternatives is hard. At least Trump is trying something different than just embracing the last 30 years of continued decay. The status quo, was nothing short of awful and support for it is nothing short of un-American activity. This is area where Trump is also correct, as far as domestic actors go anyone who can't grasp that isn't worth dealing with unless there is a reason you can't steam roll them. They are to far gone and there just isnt time to bring them around.
There are also a lot of pretenders out there. They say stuff like 'we need a scalpel approach' they never identify exactly what they are going cut and or what they are going to try and sew, or if they do they say some vagary like 'STEM'. This is just a smoke screen to justify not actually doing anything consequential. The everything approach is the only thing that can work because otherwise you get the stuff sent to Mexico, the finally assembly done there and then it gets imported as an 'electronic device' or something that is exempt.
Critics saying "Trump does not understand the market place" are absolutely correct. Sometimes you are faced with a screw that may or may not be reverse threaded and has a head you have never seen before, guess what you can still drive it if you use a big enough hammer. Sometimes understanding isn't required. Solving the problem is more important than solving it well, things can be revisited later.
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byjacks smirking reven ( 909048 ) writes:
Anyone can disagree with Trump's approach, complaints are easy coming up with real alternatives is hard.
CHIPS Act, Inflation Reduction Act.
The former was a targeted bill around a specific sector with the goal to get domestic production online, and it worked/is working.
The latter put aside hundreds of millions for rare earth production facilities in the US, a lot built around magnetics for motors including a grant for rare-earth-free magnet production. We can't say these aren't alternatives simply because Republicans refuse to do this type of legislation because of their ideology. Were those bills perfect? Far from it but they do exist so alternatives do in fact exist.
Tariffs are a bad idea, when faced with a bad choice or doing nothing generally we would and should choose nothing because it's less bad.
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