The Kill Switch We Imported from China
- Rick de la Torre
- Apr 8
- 4 min read
America didn’t just outsource its factories—we outsourced its future. And for what? A couple decades of cheap microwaves and TikTok dances? While economists babbled about efficiencies and comparative advantage, China quietly captured the raw materials of modern warfare, the supply chains of critical technology, and the political will of a complacent West too busy tweeting about feelings. President Trump’s tariffs, dismissed by the credentialed class as crude, are in fact the first rational act of economic statecraft we’ve seen in a generation.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t about punishing trade partners for being more competitive. It’s about unplugging the bomb wired to our defense industrial base.
Start with rare earths—those obscure-sounding minerals that don’t headline political debates but power everything from smart bombs to satellite guidance. Neodymium, dysprosium, terbium—if it sounds like something from a sci-fi novel, that’s because it might as well be. These aren’t luxury goods. They’re the strategic guts of our modern military. China produces over 70% of the global supply and refines even more. The U.S., in a stroke of brilliance only a Beltway committee could dream up, let that capability vanish without a whimper.
In 2020, Beijing threatened to cut off rare earth exports to Lockheed Martin over arms sales to Taiwan. That wasn’t posturing—it was proof of concept. They can weaponize our own dependence any time they want. The Chinese Communist Party holds the mineral leash, and the rest of us bark when they pull.
Trump understood that. His tariffs weren’t about punishing Beijing—they were about waking up Washington. They were about saying: if it matters to the Pentagon, it better not be manufactured in a country practicing simulated missile strikes on our aircraft carriers. And that doctrine is starting to show results.
Mountain Pass, California—the only U.S. rare earth mine—was shuttered in the early 2000s when China, backed by state subsidies and zero environmental concerns, flooded the global market. Now, it’s back online. Why? Because tariffs leveled the playing field just enough for American firms to compete. This isn’t nostalgia for coal—it’s foresight for conflict.
Same goes for steel and aluminum. When Trump invoked Section 232 in 2018 to place national security tariffs on both, the media behaved like the country was about to run out of soup cans. But within months, idled U.S. mills restarted, production increased, and the domestic defense supply chain got sturdier. The Pentagon—unlike the op-ed pages—didn’t protest. Because unlike journalists, generals don’t plan wars based on lowest cost per unit. They plan based on whether the parts show up.
Gallium and germanium—two more minerals most Americans have never heard of—are essential for night vision, radar systems, and semiconductors. We import nearly all of it. And when China restricted exports last year, the Biden administration panicked like someone who just realized they’d built a house without a foundation. Trump’s team would have seen that move coming. They would’ve tariffed it, stocked it, or built it here long before the threat hit the headlines.
But let’s not pretend tariffs are a magic wand. They’re a tactic—not a finish line. To turn this policy into a durable doctrine, we need to double down:
First, establish Defense-Critical Manufacturing Zones.
Designate areas across the country where defense-related production is prioritized—tax breaks, fast-track permitting, guaranteed federal contracts. Think of it as DARPA meets Detroit. Put these hubs near shuttered plants, former military bases, or regions hollowed out by globalization. Let the next arsenal of democracy rise from the graveyard of NAFTA.
Second, build a Strategic Mineral Reserve worth the name.
We already stockpile oil. It’s time we do the same with rare earths, gallium, tungsten, and the other elements of modern lethality. Not just the raw ore, but the refined, ready-for-use materials. Trump’s Energy Department started this effort. Biden’s team should stop fiddling with equity audits and get back to work.
Third, incentivize Selective Decoupling.
U.S. companies that move production of key defense-adjacent tech out of China—and into the U.S. or allied nations like Mexico, Poland, or Taiwan—should receive tax holidays, matching grants, and streamlined red tape. If the Defense Department needs it, it shouldn’t be made in a country that steals our IP and spies on our satellites.
This is how you turn a tariff into a plan. You pair pressure with purpose.
Naturally, the opposition will trot out the usual clichés. “Trade wars hurt consumers.” “Tariffs are taxes.” “Protectionism kills innovation.” Nonsense. This isn’t about shielding inefficiency. It’s about breaking dependency. Yes, some products will cost more. That’s the price of self-respect. You want national security on a discount rack? Go shop at TikTok.
This isn’t protectionism. It’s realism. Strategic, unapologetic realism. You don’t need to be a protectionist to see the peril of importing your missile components from your geopolitical rival. That’s not free trade—that’s assisted suicide.
Trump’s critics love to invoke Adam Smith, but even Smith couldn’t have envisioned a global market rigged by communist central planners with slave labor and surveillance states. The Trump doctrine says: If it’s vital to our survival, it gets built here—or at least somewhere that doesn’t aim missiles at our allies. That’s not populist rage. That’s strategic deterrence.
We spent 30 years offshoring America’s spine in exchange for cheap goods and illusory peace. Now we face a resurgent China, a fragmented world, and a fragile supply chain one bad day away from catastrophe. The tariffs aren’t the whole answer. But they’re a start. And finally, a damned good one.
Rick de la Torre is Senior Vice President of Strategic Risk and Intelligence at Continental Strategy. He is a registered federal lobbyist.
Comments