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In Its Hunt for Critical Minerals, the U.S. Is Misconstruing What Is and Is Not America’s
The minerals on the U.S. seabed are America’s. The minerals on the international seabed are not “America’s.” The administration plans to authorize companies to mine in international areas, nonetheless.
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To Secure Mineral Demand, Align with Original Equipment Manufacturers
Allied governments want resilient critical mineral supply chains. Investors want contracted revenue. Capital does not finance separation plants and magnet facilities based on strategic aspiration; it finances credible, long-term demand.
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U.S. Is Less Prone to Oil Price Shocks Than in Past Decades
Oil is a global market, so when prices rise in one place, they rise everywhere. The current war against Iran has already raised oil prices significantly. Now, however, the United States is a major producer and exporter of oil and refined petroleum products. In addition to being less dependent on imports, the U.S. economy is much less oil-intensive than it used to be, producing more economic value with far less oil use today than in the past.
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Bookshelf: The Waning Dominance of U.S. Dollar
Perhaps the greatest threat to the dominance of the dollar may come from the US itself. US government debt is basically ‘out of control’, representing 120 percent of GDP, and neither political party has a serious plan to bring it back under control.
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U.S. Supreme Court Appears Skeptical of Cuban Land Claims
Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical of Cuban claims to land during two oral arguments last week in which U.S. companies were seeking to recover decades-old losses under a law targeting Cuba’s communist government.
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A New Way to Make Steel Could Reduce America’s Reliance on Imports
America has been making steel from iron ore the same way for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been making enough of it. Today the U.S. is the world’s largest steel importer, relying on other countries to produce a material that serves as the backbone of our society. Hertha Metals uses natural gas and electricity to produce steel and high-purity iron for magnets.
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If We Can’t Name China’s Cyberattacks, We Lose Trust in Ourselves
In the space of just a few days, two big US tech companies took different approaches to China’s cyberattacks. Palo Alto Networks generically referred to a global cyber espionage operation by unnamed actors while Google specifically named China as the globe’s leading cyber security threat. That inconsistency hurts everyone but China.
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Momentum Is Building to Meet Electricity Demand in Texas with Small Nuclear Reactors
The first small modular nuclear reactor could be powering an industrial plant in Texas early in the next decade. And the state is pushing to become the leading site for testing and building the technology.
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What’s Geologic Hydrogen? What to Know About the Clean Energy Source Buried under Michigan.
Research shows the state may be a hotspot for the resource, prompting a scramble to understand its potential.
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A Turning Point: U.S. Recognizes Agriculture as a Domain of Defense
The US has legitimized the role of food supply in national defense. It has recognized that in a world of rupture, a nation that cannot feed itself cannot defend itself. A new policy effectively ends the era of agriculture functioning solely as a commercial sector.
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CEOs Who Have Lived Through Natural Disasters Tend to Prioritize Safer Workplaces, Study Finds
Leaders’ early life experiences may have a major impact on employee safety, says researcher Michel Magnan. New study found that CEOs who have lived through events like major earthquakes, floods or hurricanes early in life run firms that prioritize safer workplaces.
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Gun Sellers Have Made Millions from Trump’s Deployment of Immigration Agents
Firearms companies – faced with plummeting sales to the general public – found a lucrative new opportunity last year: arming President Donald Trump’s immigration operation. Last year, DHS spent a record sum on guns and ammunition, a Trace analysis found.
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The US Doesn’t Need to Generate as Much New Electricity as You Think
Load shifting and improving energy efficiency could reduce the need for new power plants, but utilities often profit more from building than saving power.
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Report: Americans Pay for 96% of Trump's Foreign Tariffs
New research shows Americans are paying almost the entire cost – 96% — of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, directly challenging his repeated assertion that foreign nations absorb the burden.“The claim that foreign countries pay these tariffs is a myth,” said Julian Hinz, research director at the Kiel Institute and one of the authors of the study. “The data show the opposite: Americans are footing the bill.”
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Supreme Court Is Set to Rule on Constitutionality of Trump Tariffs – but Not Their Wisdom
The question of whether a policy is legal or constitutional – which the justices are entertaining now with regard to Trump’s tariffs — isn’t the same as whether it’s wise. And as a trade economist, I worry that Trump’s tariffs also pose a threat to “economic democracy” – that is, the process of decision-making that incorporates the viewpoints of everyone affected by the decision.
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The long view
Bookshelf: The Waning Dominance of U.S. Dollar
Perhaps the greatest threat to the dominance of the dollar may come from the US itself. US government debt is basically ‘out of control’, representing 120 percent of GDP, and neither political party has a serious plan to bring it back under control.
A Turning Point: U.S. Recognizes Agriculture as a Domain of Defense
The US has legitimized the role of food supply in national defense. It has recognized that in a world of rupture, a nation that cannot feed itself cannot defend itself. A new policy effectively ends the era of agriculture functioning solely as a commercial sector.