Remember when “Made in America” wasn’t just a nostalgic slogan? Those days might be making a dramatic return. For decades, we’ve watched as factories shuttered across the heartland while foreign powers gobbled up our manufacturing base.

The global economic chess match has left America vulnerable in ways most Americans don’t realize. Every smartphone, electric vehicle, and military weapon system depends on tiny components that we’ve foolishly allowed others to control. But that’s about to change in a big way.

Trump’s Bold Move to Reclaim American Resources

President Trump announced during last week’s joint session of Congress that he’s preparing to take “historic action to dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the USA.” This isn’t just another policy tweak – it’s a direct challenge to China’s stranglehold on these vital resources.

Congressman Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.), who chairs the Subcommittee on Federal Lands, believes this executive action could trigger a manufacturing renaissance across the Rust Belt.

From ‘Just the News’:

“We have such an incredible endowment here in America of natural resources, including minerals of all types, for example, in the upper Midwest, from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in that arc under Lake Superior all the way over through Wisconsin to Northeastern Minnesota, we have all the minerals we need,” he said on the “Just the News, Not Noise” TV program.

The congressman didn’t mince words about why this matters. “And here’s the reason why it’s so important that we mine them, because you’re going to almost certainly have your manufacturing close to where you find the natural resource,” Tiffany explained.

China’s Dangerous Dominance

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room – China. They currently control a whopping 70% of global rare earth mineral production and process an eye-popping 90% of the world’s supply. Think that’s just an economic issue? Think again.

In December 2024, Beijing announced a ban on exporting rare earths like gallium, germanium, and antimony to the United States. These aren’t just fancy-sounding elements on the periodic table – they’re described by experts as “vital inputs for defense technologies.”

The Chinese Communist Party has been playing the long game all along – corner the market on critical resources, then weaponize that advantage when it matters most. How convenient that they waited until they had maximum leverage to spring their trap.

So while Democrats spent years fretting about “Russian collusion,” China was quietly cornering the market on materials essential to our national security. Classic case of watching the wrong threat.

Rust Belt Revival on the Horizon

Remember the communities devastated by manufacturing job losses? Places like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Ohio might soon see a dramatic turnaround.

Tiffany painted a vivid picture of what could happen: “You see it in the Great Lake states when those, they call them Lakers, they run that iron ore over to the steel mills that are in Gary, Indiana and places like that on the Great Lakes.”

This isn’t just about digging rocks out of the ground. It’s about creating an entire economic ecosystem. When you mine materials in America, you process them in America, and ultimately manufacture finished products in America. That means jobs – lots of them.

The pattern is simple but powerful. As Tiffany noted, China loves getting minerals from Australia because it’s a “short jump” to their manufacturing centers. Now imagine that dynamic playing out in the American heartland instead of across the Pacific.

Isn’t it time we stopped outsourcing our economic destiny and national security to foreign powers? Trump’s executive action suggests the answer is a resounding “yes.”

Key Takeaways:

• President Trump’s executive action on rare earth minerals directly challenges China’s dominance in this critical sector.
• China currently controls 70% of production and 90% of processing of rare earth minerals vital to defense technologies.
• Expanding American mineral production could trigger a manufacturing renaissance across the Rust Belt, creating thousands of jobs.

Sources: Just The News