“Don’t leave me at the station
With my crazy imagination
I’m afraid of what I’m chasing
On a train, heading to the mainland
I got a loaded gun and I’m aiming at the sun”
~ Imagination Station, Jasiah
Written by Bryan Lutz, Editor at Dollarcollapse.com:
The last time America’s economy train stopped at the de-globalfication station was almost 100 years ago.
It was easier back then for one main reason, which I’ll share in a moment…
Easier than it’ll be for Trump to see the fruit of his labor, but…
Even before Trump’s tariffs this year…
Many countries across the globe were already implementing tariffs.
China has been flooding the market with electric cars, steel, and other manufactured goods, which are putting the squeeze on homegrown goods.
So it looks like the world is headed in the opposite direction of the prosperity we experienced over 25 years ago.
Globalization is giving way to protectionist interests.
Instead of peaceful commerce and free trade, we see more tariffs harkening back to pre-WWII levels.
Especially in the United States.
Tariffs are now almost as high as they were in 1946.
Here’s what tariffs looked like back then.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Trade War Explodes Across World at Pace Not Seen in Decades
“In the 1930s, tariffs were the death knell for global trade, which was already cratering as the U.S. and other economies sank into depression and mass unemployment.
The Smoot-Hawley Act, an effort to protect American farms and factories from foreign competition, paved the way for an increase in tariffs on imports to the U.S. to about 20%.
Major economies raised trade barriers in response.
After the war, in 1947, the U.S. and almost two dozen other countries signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in an effort to lower barriers to international trade and rebuild a shattered world economy.
Average tariffs among major economies fell from around 22% in 1947 to 14% in 1964 and to 3% in 1999.”
Implementing tariffs was a lot easier.
Here’s the one main reason I mentioned earlier:
The production of goods did not rely so heavily on external resources.
America had everything it needed to enable the industrial revolution on home soil.
Now, not so much.
For the AI revolution, the US needs external resources.
For example, Uranium to power nuclear power plants to power data centers to power AI computation chips.
And there’s more…
As far as rare earth minerals go, the United States hasn’t been fully explored.
There are little signs of rare earth resources within US borders.
So some places on earth are becoming ground for economic warfare.
OilPrice.com reports:
Central Asia Becomes Center Stage in Global Mineral Race
“The United States and European Union have demonstrated rising interest in Central Asia’s critical minerals in recent months.
They additionally have shown interest in getting involved in the construction and operation of nuclear power plants to be built in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The US quest for rare earths appears to be intensifying, underscored by a low-key tour by a US congresswoman, Carol Miller, a Republican from West Virginia, who has held meetings with high-profile Central Asian leaders.
In a highly unusual protocol twist for a US representative who is not a member of the legislature’s hierarchy, Miller met with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on March 20, three days after holding talks with Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Uzbekistan.
There has been scant coverage of the visit.
Statements issued by the presidential press services of both countries provided vague summaries of the discussions, but did touch on the topic of mining…
…Meanwhile, Russia and China are showing that they’re not about to cede ground willingly to their Western rivals.”
Other countries see the US rare earth minerals need as an opportunity…
The Gateway Pundit reports:
Desperate for Peace, Congo’s President Offers Trump Control of $24 Trillion in Minerals to Bring Peace in the Region
“The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi, has reached out directly to President Donald J. Trump with a historic proposal: help defeat a brutal rebel force terrorizing his nation, and in return, America will gain direct access to one of the world’s richest untapped troves of critical minerals—worth an estimated $24 trillion.
According to a letter obtained by The Wall Street Journal, President Tshisekedi offered Trump exclusive mining opportunities through the newly launched U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund, a Trump-led initiative aimed at reshaping global investment through pro-American partnerships.
“Your election has ushered in the golden age for America,” Tshisekedi wrote. “Our partnership would provide the U.S. with a strategic advantage by securing critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium, copper and tantalum from the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
So, here’s the thing.
We may not be looking at a de-globalization, but rather a new world order.
One where State’s act as corporations marketing their services for resources…
Human resources, material resources, and rare earth mineral resources.
So as it’s starting to look right now…
The train seems like its stopping at de-globalfication station, but really, we have something entirely different.
