Would U.S. fighter jets still be able to fly if Chinese rare earth metal components were removed? Trump signed Executive Order 14415, mandating the elimination of parts sourced from China in weapon systems! The order requires the Pentagon to strictly enforce the law, including for missiles, drones, and fighter jets!
The executive order demands a significant reduction in waiver issuance starting January 1, 2027, requiring contractors to provide detailed supply chain mapping, plans for alternative domestic or allied sourcing, strict timelines, and enhanced scrutiny at lower levels of the supply chain.
Trump and his administration believe previous waivers were too lenient, resulting in many "Made in USA" weapons actually relying on materials from adversarial nations—posing risks of wartime supply disruption and backdoor vulnerabilities!
This essentially means creating equipment entirely produced within the Western bloc. To answer the first question: What Chinese components are present in U.S. weapon systems? According to public reports, most rare earth metal components come from China. If Trump allows exemptions for raw material imports, there are still semi-finished products and various small components—such as printed circuit boards (PCBs), microelectronic components, certain sensors, connectors, and primary electronic parts—along with battery materials and specific alloys and forgings, which are nearly unavoidable.
Public data shows that at least 80,000 U.S. weapon system components involve key minerals dominated by China, affecting nearly 78% of Pentagon weapon systems. Although U.S. laws (e.g., 10 U.S.C. 4872) have previously prohibited direct procurement, past practices often circumvented this via "unavailability in the U.S." waivers. Trump’s 2026 executive order now mandates strict restrictions on such waivers starting in 2027.
Thus, the coming challenge will be how the U.S. confronts a country like China, which accounts for over one-third of global manufacturing capacity. According to forecasts by United Nations-affiliated agencies, China may surpass 45% of global manufacturing output after 2035—meaning that as Western nations continue to shrink their industrial base, they will increasingly find it impossible to avoid products from China.
Whether through domestic production or allied production (such as MP Materials), or via "friend-shoring," the future supply chain is increasingly pointing toward China. The method may evolve from the U.S. directly importing goods from China, to U.S. "friend-shoring" partners purchasing from China and then laundering those supplies through various mechanisms to deliver them to the U.S.—in order to meet Trump’s demand for “pure Western production”!
Finally, let’s address one question: Can Trump’s vision actually be realized?
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871778030257228/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.