⚖️ Trump pivots US economic strategy

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Project Vault: The New Strategic Reserve for American Industry

The Trump administration’s launch of Project Vault marks a fundamental pivot in U.S. economic strategy, shifting the focus of national security from liquid fuel to solid minerals. This $11.7 billion initiative—officially the U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve—is designed as a civilian counterpart to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, aiming to shield domestic manufacturers from the "economic war" waged through supply chain manipulation. The funding structure is a unique public-private hybrid, anchored by a $10 billion, 15-year loan from the U.S. Export-Import (EXIM) Bank and supplemented by nearly $2 billion in private capital from over a dozen industrial giants. Unlike traditional stockpiles, Project Vault operates as a dynamic inventory where participating companies agree to purchase materials at specific prices, paying the government carrying costs for storage while maintaining the right to tap the entire reserve during major global disruptions.

A Direct Response to the "Trump Card"

This massive investment is the direct result of a bruising trade year where China weaponized its dominance over rare earth elements and battery materials to counter American tariffs. By restricting exports of metals like gallium, germanium, and cobalt—indispensable for everything from F-35 fighter jets to Google’s data centers—Beijing demonstrated its ability to stall the U.S. industrial engine at will. President Trump’s characterization of this stockpile as a "reserve for American industry" acknowledges that the global economy has entered a post-oil era where control over the periodic table is more valuable than control over the oil field. While the administration maintains a rhetorical preference for fossil fuels, the sheer scale of Project Vault—targeting a market a fraction of the size of oil with half the value of the crude oil reserve—suggests a quiet realization that the future is being built on electric and semiconductor foundations.

Equity Stakes and the "Picking Winners" Controversy

Beyond the stockpile, the administration has taken the unprecedented step of buying direct equity stakes in the companies that mine and process these materials. In early February 2026, the government reported a 15% federal stake in MP Materials, the largest rare earth producer in the Western Hemisphere, and finalized a major investment in USA Rare Earth for its Texas processing facility. This "mining spending spree" has drawn sharp criticism from some lawmakers who argue the federal government is effectively picking winners and losers using taxpayer money, including funds diverted from the CHIPS and Science Act. However, for the administration and its allies, these stakes are seen as necessary "demand guarantees" that provide the bankability required to build a domestic supply chain that can finally decouple from Chinese refining.

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