Chip War Weaknesses: The Problem with TSMC’s China Exposure
January 15, 2025Even as Washington pours tens of billions of dollars into domestic semiconductor production, even as Washington strives to build domestic industrial capacity, the US does so on a foundation that Beijing controls.
Orienting Economic Statecraft for China’s Military-Civil Fusion: LiDAR in the Field
September 18, 2024The volume and variety of apparent military applications of LiDAR suggests that China may well have concepts of operations and use cases for LiDAR that could generate surprise on the battlefield – and off.
To make US manufacturing more competitive, power people and machines
July 8, 2024How America navigates its current manufacturing boom and leverages it to boost competitiveness and productivity is a central question of our current moment. The right technology can help us figure out the answers.
Sizing up the competition: asymmetries in the US-China tech contest
June 27, 2024The US and China are locked in a technology competition. Less well understood is how each side assesses the contours of and strategies for winning that contest. Yet any serious game plan must contend with the opponent’s view of the competitive landscape, or risk being outflanked and outplayed.
How China sees the global energy competition
June 14, 2024To a greater degree than the US, China treats energy not only as a matter of security but also a competitive domain. For Beijing, energy is not merely a question of security: having sufficient energy supplies to meet demand. It is also a contested realm: one in and through which to project power, acquire leverage, and exact concessions.
The Risk of China’s Nitrocellulose Advantage – And What the US Defense Industrial Base Can Do About It
May 22, 2024Protracted conflict, as seen in today’s kinetic battlefields, demands sustained munition production. The US defense industrial base – and its allied peers – need to demonstrate to those in Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow that the United States can compete in production and re-supply.
Cooperate or Compete? The Zero-Sum Game of AI Engagement with China
March 26, 2024The United States and China have reportedly reached an agreement to extend the decades-long cooperative framework of the US-China Science and Technology Agreement. That recent move follows Biden [...]
COMAC Comes to Europe: strategic implications of the commercial aerospace battleground
January 11, 2024China co-opted and conquered foreign solar energy and high-speed rail players. Will incumbent aerospace giants fall for the same playbook and spell their own disruption? The question is an existential one, and Western incumbents' survival hinges on weaning off the Chinese market and ceasing cooperation with Chinese players.
The US national innovation base has critical weaknesses. Just look at Starlink.
September 1, 2023To compete with China, the US needs a robust industrial and innovation base, able to withstand attacks on the battlefield and the factory floor. Real American dynamism – and real competitive advantage – stem from credible and sustainable power. Starlink's, and more broadly Elon Musk's, dependence on China underscore the vulnerabilities in current US national defense strategy.
Indium phosphide could be critical to China’s semiconductor ambitions
July 26, 2023Gallium and germanium have stolen the headlines. But indium phosphide warrants attention, too. China is eyeing the compound semiconductor material as an opportunity to shake off dependence on foreign semiconductor technology, and in turn a point of leverage over global semiconductor supply chains.
Fireworks, the Fourth, and an Industrial Future
July 2, 2023It’s the Fourth of July, a day to celebrate the United States of America. The US was able to secure that independence, against all odds, in large part because it was able to support itself militarily and economically; because during the Revolutionary War, Washington and Congress doubled down on developing American manufacturing.
Battlefield Cyber: America’s Software Meltdown — and What Must Be Done to Fix It
May 3, 2023America’s software is profoundly vulnerable, which is one reason China and Russia have been able to penetrate US computer systems so deeply. This essay, adapted from the forthcoming “Battlefield Cyber: How China and Russia Are Undermining Our Democracy and National Security" outlines a solution.
The US Aluminum Production Challenge and How to Fix It
March 30, 2023Without action to stabilize the aluminum industry, the United States is at risk of increasing its reliance on China, Russia and the UAE for critical infrastructures, military needs, and clean technologies. And without a robust energy supply, the US will not be able to stabilize the aluminum sector.
What the Market Hasn’t Realized about Global Soybean Supply
March 20, 2023Argentina is the world’s fourth largest producer of soybeans and largest exporter of soybean products. But historic drought in the country is devastating its production, with serious consequences for global supply. And those consequences are not currently being priced into markets, exacerbating the problem.
The US is Vulnerable in Critical Minerals. But There Is a Solution.
February 26, 2023The US is at least 50 percent import dependent for 26 out of the 32 minerals that the 2022 US Geological Survey publishes data on, or 81.25 percent. Of those, China is the top source of US imports for 11, or 42.3 percent. Gallium underscores how severe this dynamic is.
Can the Modern Agricultural Industry Increase the Carrying Capacity of the Planet?
February 1, 2023Trends point to real risk of global protein shortage. But the good news: There is potential to increase the carrying capacity of the planet. The potential boons of doing so just have to be made clear. Takeaways from the Archer Daniels Midland's earnings call.
America’s Military Readiness Depends on Reshoring Rare Earth Metals
January 26, 2023This is the time for the United States to reshore its critical manufacturing. Thanks to American innovation, we have new, cost-effective manufacturing and processing methods that are environmentally sustainable and safe for workers. I am proud to be part of this solution as a co-founder of Phoenix Tailings, a Massachusetts-based mineral processing startup.
Why Dell Ditching Chinese Chips Is Great, but Not Enough
January 18, 2023For decades, US companies have been swayed by the siren song of cheap production and rapid market growth in China. Dell, which announced at the start of this year that it intends to stop using semiconductors made in China by 2024, could be at the vanguard of reversing this trend. Or it could be putting a band-aid on a bullet hole.
Warning Signs for Global Manufacturing
January 7, 2023The Producer Manufacturing Index is flashing red, globally, showing contraction across the US, China, Japan, Singapore, France, and Germany.
We Can’t Build a Clean Economy Without Investment in Critical Minerals
January 5, 2023Accelerated production of copper, and other critical minerals, is necessary to make clean energy options economically viable. Otherwise, the gap between supply and demand will fuel further price increases on all critical minerals – which will make the energy transition more expensive and less competitive.
Geothermal Energy Can Help Reduce Reliance on Imported Fossil Fuels
November 22, 2022America’s dependence on foreign oil is clearly an increasing security and economic issue. The solution cannot simply be domestic fossil fuel production. Greater focus on renewable energy is necessary, but solar and wind energy both face practical challenges. A third alternative is right beneath our feet: Geothermal ground source energy.
The US and China Are in a Space Race: Who Is Counting Laps?
November 3, 2022As rhetoric around the US-China space race picks up, what does the competitive balance actually look like? The two country’s relative satellite capacity offers one angle in – and one where overall numbers tell only part of the story.
The US Is Vulnerable in Critical Minerals. But There Is a Solution.
October 24, 2022The US is at least 50 percent import dependent for 26 out of the 32 minerals that the 2022 US Geological Survey publishes data on, or 81.25 percent. Of those, China is the top source of US imports for 11, or 42.3 percent. Gallium underscores how severe this dynamic is.
Cleveland Deburring and the Critical Manufacturing Step You Didn’t Know About
October 6, 2022Deburring is an age-old step in the manufacturing process, and what we would call “the last step in the manufacturing process:" Cleveland Deburring Machine Company details the critical role of deburring in modern manufacturing, and the imperative of maintaining trusted and tailored systems for it.
US Manufacturing Is at a Tipping Point: It’s Time To Realize Making Matters
September 23, 2022Before US manufacturing crosses the Rubicon, the country needs a broad-based consensus that manufacturing matters; with it the foundation for a national manufacturing strategy that both government and the private sector buy into.
Grey Duck Outdoor: A Small Business Playbook for Domestic Production
September 5, 2022As the owner of Grey Duck Outdoor, I am one year into trying on-shoring. I’m therefore one year into recognizing both how difficult this process can be, and how much potential it offers. And I’m evidence that it is possible to rethink supply chains – especially with the support of US equity holders and consumers.
Heavy Metal: The Hard Days and Nights of the Shipyard Workers Who Build America’s Supercarriers
September 1, 2022Unprecedented stressors have created the conditions for new investment in domestic industry and new models for public-private industrial coordination to support it. This excerpt from Michael Fabey’s 2022 Heavy Metal documents one such example, a case of operational success at a time of enormous pain and uncertainty.
The UK’s New Critical Minerals Strategy Represents a Comeback for Industrial Policy
July 28, 2022The UK government is now demonstrating that it is ready to move, and in lockstep with allies, in setting out the steps to maximize what the UK produces across the value chain and to reduce strategic dependence on China.
A Secure Industrial Strategy Starts at the Upstream
July 26, 2022In everything from batteries to solar panels, the energy sources of tomorrow depend on inputs from China. The good news is that it it's not too late. The US, its allies, and its partners can still compete. But they will have to start with the upstream.
China’s COVID Antiviral Pill Shows That the US Is Running the Wrong Race
July 10, 2022If the US is to have any hope of a productive economic future – and if the US is to compete effectively with China – it needs to shift from a focus on R&D to a focus on application and industrialization.
Fireworks, the Fourth, and an Industrial Future
July 4, 2022It’s the Fourth of July, a day to celebrate the United States of America. The US was able to secure that independence, against all odds, in large part because it was able to support itself militarily and economically; because during the Revolutionary War, Washington and Congress doubled down on developing American manufacturing.
Getting in the Semiconductor Fight
July 2, 2022A global semiconductor strategy, if it could be established, might set the template for how the techno-democracies can compete in today’s industrial era. Emerging industries cannot be pursued by a go-it-alone America. But nor can any be developed without guardrails and a competitive orientation. Welcome to the new globalization.
We Can’t Build a Clean Economy without Investment in Critical Minerals
June 23, 2022Accelerated production of copper, and other critical minerals, is necessary to make clean energy options economically viable. Otherwise, the gap between supply and demand will fuel further price increases on all critical minerals – which will make the energy transition more expensive and less competitive.
At a Time of Runaway Inflation, Tech Is an Ally Not a Foe
June 11, 2022It’s time for Washington to start working with, not against, big tech; to start leveraging American industrial scale in order to fight inflation and for the global order.
Make the Right Choice for the US-China Tech Competition
May 26, 2022US industry – powered by scale and global reach – fueled the country’s rise. The US needs that industrial strength now. But today, it will come from tech not from steel. And it will only come if that tech operates on big platforms.
How Washington Can Resolve the Energy Crisis — for Today, and Tomorrow
May 23, 2022If Secretary Granholm wants more energy production, she should orient her relationship to industry around reshaping incentives to align tomorrow’s demand with today’s supply. She should make clear that incentives for increased production will continue next month, and the months after.
The Baby Formula Shortage Could Have Been Avoided. Let’s Make Sure the Next One Is
May 17, 2022The baby formula shortages shows the US entering an era of industrial dislocation, and competition, not seen in decades. The way for America to win in an era of shortage and a competition for supply chains is to recognize the hot spots – and then open the floodgates for industry to do its thing.
In the Global Semiconductor Race, the US Should Remember to Tie Its Shoes
May 9, 2022Washington needs to invest not only in next-generation technological advance, but also into semiconductor production itself, and the materials necessary for it. Such investments are critical for a robust industrial base. They would also be diplomatically advantageous.
Want an Energy Revolution? Try Investing in It
April 24, 2022The green economy constitutes a multi-trillion dollar market opportunity. It’s also an opportunity for geo-economic power: With appropriate and sufficient investments, a country can maneuver to control tomorrow’s supply chains and manufacturing capacity, and therefore to project influence internationally.
It’s Not Too Late for Washington to Learn Supply and Demand
April 1, 2022Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown that the US cannot afford to depend on geopolitical adversaries for critical factors. Instead, the US should be investing in domestic production that can not only prop up national resilience, but also that of allies and partners.
Lizzo Needs to Think Bigger
March 30, 2022It’s time for new playbook for the American celebrity: It’s time for US celebrities to start launching lines produced in America, with American materials, according to American norms.
When Promises Aren’t Enough: An LNG Roadmap
March 25, 2022Producing things is difficult and Washington has been out of the game for some time. But producing things is also possible. And Washington needs to get back into the game, yesterday. We can start with LNG -- and actually help Europe in the process.
Don’t Forget the Build in Build Back Better
January 12, 2022American national defense faces a very different threat than it did in when the Defense Production Act was implemented in 1950. But mobilization of domestic production may be even more critical to today’s challenge – and to the future of the United States – than it was seven decades ago.
