America’s industrial decline was a choice. Reversing it is, too. First Solar CEO Mark Widmar's new op-ed in @RealClearEnergy compares two solar technologies over the same decade against the same adversary — crystalline silicon, which was lost to a state-backed Chinese buildout; and CdTe thin film, which remained in American hands through deliberate choices on IP, manufacturing, and supply chains. The lesson for critical minerals, batteries, and semiconductors: structural advantages compound. So do dependencies. The on-off switch for American industry stays in American hands if we choose to keep it here. Read the full piece: #FirstSolar# #AmericasSolarCompany# #AmericanManufacturing# #EnergyIndependence# #IndustrialPolicy# #MadeInAmerica#

Trump promised manufacturing jobs. He has no economic development initiative or industrial policy. He failed. ✅ Lost over 75k manufacturing jobs ✅ Trade deficit still over $1 trillion ✅ Manufacturing employment is down by 200-300k at 7.9% and wages are flat.

Our Strategist Michelle Weaver talks to Michael Zezas and Jessica Alsford, Co-Directors of the Morgan Stanley Institute, about how AI, energy resilience and industrial policy are changing investment decisions. Tune into the latest Thoughts on the Market.

Why did private firms, not state-owned enterprises (SOEs), come to dominate China’s EV sector? My new @ChinaJournal article (co-authored with Xiao Ma @maxiaoalex) challenge the "top-down industrial policy" narrative. The real engine? Strategic alliances between local governments and private capital. 🧵 Based on 3+ years of fieldwork, 60+ interviews (with officials, entrepreneurs, and engineers), and rich first-hand accounts, we show how strict central regulations inadvertently drove local states to bet big on private EV players. Here is the story: (1/15)

FULL INTERVIEW: @asianometry says export controls are a slowing mechanism, not a stopping one, and that kicking Huawei off TSMC in 2017 may have been the mistake that started China's indigenous chip industry. Even if you let them back now, he doesn't think they'd take it. Jon Y (@asianometry) runs Asianometry, the YouTube channel and newsletter on semiconductors and Asian industry. He joined @theojaffee and @schisofrenia to discuss export controls, CXMT, and why he thinks America should copy Chinese industrial policy: 01:45 whether China would be ahead on AI without export controls 04:02 why he'd restrict the equipment rather than the chips 04:26 the case that kicking Huawei off TSMC backfired 06:53 the etch and deposition gap the rules left open 08:30 what CXMT would need to seriously threaten Samsung and Hynix 09:57 why he thinks America should copy Chinese industrial policy 11:24 why the Intel equity stake isn't what he means 13:51 what happened to Qimonda's IP after Germany let it die 15:06 why domestic consumer electronics manufacturing isn't coming back 16:29 the policies that look smart for ten years and then bite you 17:16 how he actually researches and writes the videos 19:03 the $0.05 microcontroller that stopped car production 20:22 what he wants people to take away from the channel 21:08 why chipmaking is remarkably simple, and unchanged for 70 years

2026, day 226 Good morning from Asia. ‘US eyes indefinite Iran naval blockade as oil supply shortfall deepens’ (Reuters); ‘US Treasury Secretary Bessent says US to apply measures 'never seen before' on Iran’ (JPost); ‘U.S. Sending Fresh Aircraft Carrier to Middle East Amid Iran War Strain’ (WSJ) - “USS George Washington is set to replace USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed for more than 250 days”; ‘U.S. military has lost roughly 25% of its Reaper drones as Iran war depletes arsenal’ (WaPo); ‘Houthis claim drone attack on Saudi Aramco refinery’ (Gulf News); ‘MBS meets top US general for Middle East to discuss defense cooperation, reducing tensions’ (Al Arabiya); ‘Saudi Arabia considers backing Yemeni ground offensive to retake Houthi-held Red Sea coast’ (JPost); ‘Prince Khalid meets Iraq’s top general to discuss Saudi-Iraqi defense ties’ (Al Arabiya); ‘Board of Peace confirms Kushner to visit Israel and Egypt next week to discuss Gaza plan’ (ToI); ‘Fidan: Türkiye will take radical steps if Israel insists on Gaza stance’ (ClashReport); ‘US military launches first-ever multinational attack drone task force’ (Gulf News); ‘Trump Orders Navy to Restore Older Tech on Aircraft Carriers, Costing Billions’ (WSJ); ‘US floats prospect of joint strikes on Colombian armed groups’ (Reuters): ‘Oil, Hunters and Dr. Phil: How a Long-Shot Project Is Shaking Up Greenland’ (NYT); ‘Covert CIA program said to be behind mysterious attacks on Galápagos boats’ (WaPo); ‘What Venezuela's renewed ties with Israel could mean for Iran’ (JPost); ‘Britain warned it lacks firepower needed to defend shipping from Russia’ (Telegraph); ‘’Much faster than originally planned': Ukraine warns of Russian rival to Musk's Starlink’ (Politico); ‘Flight-tracking data shows continued Russian air bridge to sub-Saharan Africa’ (Defense News); ‘Tokyo issues angry response as Putin makes his first visit to the disputed Kuril Islands’ (Euronews); ‘Japan needs deterrence and renewal — not managed decline’ (FT); ‘Sirens blare and the streets empty out. Taiwan prepares itself for war’ (Telegraph); ‘Satellite images show 50 per cent boost to China's Type 054B missile capacity’ (SCMP); ‘Inside North Korea’s Operation to Conquer the American Job Market’ (WSJ); ‘North Korea slams joint US-South Korea drill: 'Will respond to new threat level'’ (Reuters); In geoeconomics, ‘Are global oil stocks big enough to weather another six months of US-Iran war?’ (Reuters); ‘Russia’s Diesel Exports Crash to Multiyear-Low amid Tight Global Market’ (OilPrice); ‘Can Takaichi's $2.3tn bet on industrial policy revive growth in Japan?’ (Nikkei Asia); ‘Japan’s Inflation Paradox Is Creating Its Own Winners and Losers’ (BBG); ‘Trump enlists US tech groups for cyber privateering push’ (FT) ‘US accuses Chinese exporters of masterminding 'Great Transshipment Scam'’ (SCMP); ‘Trump administration to impose tariffs on drone imports, White House says’ (Reuters); ‘Bangladesh seeks homegrown drone industry with Turkey, China partnerships’ (Nikkei Asia); ‘Microsoft retreats in China, but Al boom helps it keep a window open’ (Reuters); ‘Brazil opens reciprocity process against US over tariffs’ (Reuters); ‘US also wants trade deal before August 19 tariff deadline, Canadian source says’ (Reuters); ‘US court backs Trump's power to close 'de minimis' tariff exemption’ (Reuters); In politics, ‘Older Democrats walloped by midterms anti-establishment revolt’ (Axios); ‘Top Democrat Targets Supreme Court for Changes’ (WSJ); ‘China ‘funding pro-Palestine marches in UK’’ (Telegraph); In markets, ‘Diesel Crack Spread Tops $98 a Barrel to Hit Record High’ (BBG); ‘US sells 30-year bonds at highest borrowing costs since 2001’ (FT); ‘Anthropic investors bet on $2tn valuation in record IPO’ (FT); ‘Chinese banks test repo-linked corporate loans to make pricing more market-based’ (SCMP)