Trump’s Hidden War with China Could Make Americans Rich
Former CIA advisor Jim Rickards reveals how Trump’s mineral offensive could ignite a $150 trillion American boom
Washington, D.C., Oct. 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As tensions with Beijing escalate, a quiet economic war is unfolding beneath the surface of global trade. The Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency has begun stockpiling more than $1 billion worth of cobalt, antimony, scandium, and other metals critical to U.S. defense, energy, and artificial intelligence systems.
The move, detailed in recent filings, is part of a broader White House strategy to counter China’s near-total control of the world’s mineral supply chain. For decades, Beijing has dominated the processing and export of rare earth elements, materials that underpin everything from advanced fighter jets to electric vehicles.
Former CIA and Pentagon advisor Jim Rickards believes this new push marks the beginning of what he calls “America’s $150 trillion mineral endowment.”
“Well guess who profits from locking up our vast mineral resources — for decades? CHINA!” Rickards said. “The U.S. government admits we rely on China for nearly 100% of 20 key minerals.”
The Global Supply-Chain Standoff
China’s dominance in rare-earth production has given it powerful leverage over Western industries. Rickards points out that the situation came to a head last year when Beijing temporarily halted exports of germanium and gallium — metals used in advanced chips and satellite systems — sending shockwaves through global markets.
“China blocked the export of these critical minerals to the United States,” Rickards warned. “Meaning if we don’t act — our whole economy could tip into crisis.”
He compares the episode to the 1970s oil embargo, when a small disruption triggered massive economic consequences. “The same kind of thing is happening today,” Rickards said.
The result has been a scramble by Washington to rebuild its own supply chains, revive domestic mining, and secure new foreign partnerships. But Rickards says the more transformative change is happening on U.S. soil.
Trump’s Counter-Strike
According to Rickards, President Trump has made resource independence a cornerstone of his second-term agenda. Through executive action and new legislation, his administration is seeking to reopen federally owned lands that have been off-limits to development for more than a century.
He cites Trump’s own words:
“There are certain areas where we have great, raw earth … and I’m going to open them up.”
Rickards notes that, “for the first time in a century,” these lands are being cleared for exploration by American companies, creating what he views as an industrial revival rooted in natural resources rather than debt or speculation.
At the same time, a landmark Supreme Court ruling overturning the Chevron Doctrine has removed the regulatory barriers that long empowered unelected agencies to block new mining projects. Rickards calls it an “historic turning point for America.”
Together, the policy shift and legal changes represent what he describes as “the first step toward reclaiming the nation’s birthright” — the mineral wealth trapped beneath U.S. federal lands.
From Crisis to Opportunity
Rickards estimates that the value of America’s untapped mineral base exceeds $150 trillion — “a number so large, it’s enough to pay off the national debt four times over and make every American family a millionaire on paper.”
He argues that unlocking these reserves could trigger a new industrial era, reversing decades of offshoring and creating an economic surge “that dwarfs the New Deal.” By shifting production back home, the U.S. could stabilize supply chains, reduce reliance on foreign powers, and recapture the technological edge it once held.
“This is not some kind of government program like those Covid relief checks,” Rickards says. “It’s a chance for the average American to become richer than they ever imagined.”
A Strategic Turning Point
Rickards frames the mineral push as both a security imperative and a generational investment opportunity. He believes the companies positioned to supply the Pentagon and develop newly reopened deposits could play a pivotal role in rebuilding America’s industrial base.
In his presentation, The American Birthright, he details several U.S.-listed firms that already control early access to critical deposits now being prioritized by the government. “The real battle,” Rickards says, “isn’t being fought on Wall Street — it’s being fought underground.”
About Jim Rickards
Jim Rickards is a former advisor to the CIA, Pentagon, and U.S. Treasury. He predicted the 2008 financial crisis, Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, and the 2020 pandemic lockdowns months before they occurred. Today he publishes Strategic Intelligence, a monthly briefing on geopolitics, economics, and national security.
Derek Warren Public Relations Manager Paradigm Press Group Email: dwarren@paradigmpressgroup.com
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