Donald Trump is back in the White House, and the gloves are off. Gone are the pretences of diplomacy and multilateralism; in their place, raw transactionalism rules the day. His latest demand? That Ukraine hand over $500 billion worth of rare earth minerals in exchange for continued US military support. The ‘America First’ doctrine has entered a new phase, imperial plunder rebranded as geopolitical pragmatism. The United States has poured billions into Ukraine’s defence, alongside European nations keeping the war against Russia alive through a steady supply of weapons and intelligence. But Trump, never one to let an investment go to waste, is making it clear: America doesn’t do charity. If Kyiv wants the guns, Washington wants the minerals. And once again, the spoils of war are for capital, not the people.
Rare earth minerals are the backbone of modern industry, indispensable for producing everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to fighter jets and missile systems. The US has long relied on China’s (and Africa) dominant supply chains, but with Beijing tightening control over its exports, American elites are desperate to secure alternative sources. Enter Ukraine, sitting on vast reserves of these critical resources. But let’s be clear, this isn’t about ensuring that the average American benefits from rare earth extraction. It’s about securing them for US corporations that will monopolise their processing and sale. The beneficiaries will be the same military contractors, tech giants, and financial elites who already dictate the American economy. The extraction may be done in Ukraine, but the wealth will flow to US-based capitalists, not workers on either side of the Atlantic. This move lays bare the fundamental truth of US foreign policy: it has never been about ‘democracy’ or ‘human rights’ (fighting the good war) only about control, markets, and resources. Trump, in his usual fashion, is simply saying the quiet part out loud. While previous administrations cloaked their resource grabs in the language of international security and democratic values, Trump dispenses with the niceties. He is treating Ukraine not as an ally, but as a client state, obligated to pay tribute in minerals for the continued privilege of American military protection.
“Trump, in his usual fashion, is simply saying the quiet part out loud……He is treating Ukraine not as an ally, but as a client state, obligated to pay tribute in minerals for the continued privilege of American military protection.”
But here’s the real kicker, this has nothing to do with American workers. The jobs won’t be coming back, the wages won’t be rising, and the wealth won’t be shared. The rare earths won’t belong to the people; they will be extracted, processed, and commodified by the same corporate interests that have gutted domestic industry for decades. Trump’s demand is not an aberration; it’s an acceleration. The US has always extracted wealth from its client states, whether through military occupation, economic coercion, or regime change. Ukraine’s resources are simply the latest prize in a long line of imperial spoils, much like Iraq’s oil or Latin America’s lithium.
The military-industrial complex—one of the few truly bipartisan forces in Washington—will back this plunder to the hilt. The defence contractors who fuel Ukraine’s war effort stand to make billions, while mining and tech corporations salivate at the prospect of new, Western-controlled supply chains. And meanwhile, the ordinary American is told there’s no money for healthcare, for infrastructure, or for education, but plenty for securing minerals that, for some, will never directly benefit them. Trump’s base may cheer this as another ‘America First’ move, but economic nationalism under capitalism is a farce. The American worker will not see a cent of the wealth generated from Ukraine’s rare earths. The corporations that profit will not reinvest in American industry, just as they didn’t after Trump’s previous tax cuts and trade wars. Instead, they will do what they always do, hoard profits, suppress wages, and funnel money into their own pockets. If Trump truly cared about American self-sufficiency, he would advocate for nationalised industry, state-run resource extraction, and public investment in rare earth processing. The sensible plan would be to keep as much of the minerals in the ground, prioritising degrowth over extractive capitalism. But that is, of course, out of the question, it just isn’t the Trump way—he is a pump, pump, dig, dig kind of guy. So instead, we get economic pillaging under the guise of strategic security.
“Trump’s base may cheer this as another ‘America First’ move, but economic nationalism under capitalism is a farce. The American worker will not see a cent of the wealth generated from Ukraine’s rare earths.”
For workers, both in the US and Ukraine, the path forward is clear. There is no salvation in nationalism, no future in capitalist extraction. The real battle is not between nations, but between classes, between those who profit from war and those who suffer under it. Trump asks, ‘What’s in it for me?’ But the real question is, what’s in it for us? And under capitalism, the answer remains the same, nothing. The only way forward is a system where wealth is democratised, resources are shared, and production serves people, not profit. Until then, the cycle of plunder will continue, with workers footing the bill for an empire that does not serve them.
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