Caterpillar’s $100 million workforce pledge begins with Indiana investments, targeting advanced manufacturing skills. The move addresses critical workforce shortages as demand for heavy equipment grows.
The current US-China conflict over rare earth minerals represents the culmination of thirty years of strategic industrial policy shifts, according to industry analysis. Recent export controls follow patterns China established in 2010, with American dependence traced to approved technology transfers and domestic production decline. Experts suggest rebuilding strategic sectors will require sustained investment and policy commitment.
The ongoing tension between the United States and China over rare earth minerals represents shadow boxing with very real consequences, according to industry analysts who trace current dependencies to policy decisions made decades ago. Sources indicate that China’s export controls on these critical minerals—essential for semiconductors, electric vehicles, smartphones, and defense systems—stem from a deliberate, long-term strategy that the U.S. enabled through industrial policy choices dating to the 1990s.
