U.S. Treasury Secretary Guarantees: Can Break Free from Chinese Rare Earths in Just Four Years
U.S. government officials share a common trait: they always make big promises before the task is even accomplished.
Indeed, on the 24th, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that the United States aims to achieve "de-China-ization" of its rare earth supply chain within four years.
Bessent's statement was quite skillfully worded—by the time the four years are up, if the goal isn't met, he will have long since left office. Thus, his pledge carries almost no real weight.
It should be noted that the U.S. has been loudly proclaiming its intention to reduce reliance on Chinese rare earths since 2015. Despite repeated slogans, after 11 years, nothing tangible has been achieved.
Bessent’s rhetoric essentially rehashes the old tune of the Biden administration’s “de-risking without decoupling”—that is, the U.S. hopes to gradually reduce dependence on China in critical sectors such as minerals and semiconductors, while avoiding a complete severance from the entire Chinese market.
But in reality, if this strategy had actually worked, results would have been evident during Biden’s tenure. Why would it now fall to Bessent to repeat the same tired claims?
Precisely because these strategies have proven ineffective, America’s various policies toward China today have fallen into a pattern where each new president brings in a new team of officials, who then repeat nearly identical talking points. Over the years, we’ve seen no real progress in reducing dependence on China—instead, numerous projects, lobbying efforts, and contracts spawned by these policies have made many so-called “Commissioner Smiths” extremely wealthy.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863441911755840/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.