Renewable Chokepoints: Why U.S. Semiconductor Controls Outlast Rare-Earth Pressure
A War on the Rocks commentary argues that the durability of economic leverage now depends on sustaining chokepoints, not merely creating them. Using the 2025 U.S.–China export-control escalation as a case, it concludes semiconductor controls are more precise and renewable over time than rare-earth restrictions, which accelerate substitution and impose domestic spillovers.