Bonus Video: The Death of the US Tech Sector: Part 1

Peter Zeihan 4 min

Tariffs actively disincentivize American participation in global supply chains. When deglobalization gets worse and China goes away, we will have very little to work from.

  • Donald Trump

Chapters

  1. 0:00

    The Global Supply Chain Network

    Explains how tech products rely on thousands of parts from many countries. Details how specific high-value components are concentrated in East Asia.

  2. 2:28

    The Impact of Deglobalization and Tariffs

    Argues that tariffs break supply chains and cause manufacturing to leave the US.

Key points

  • 0:00

    Smartphones contain between one and two thousand distinct pieces.

  • 0:00

    Tech products touch five to eleven countries before reaching the consumer.

  • 0:00

    DRAM chips originate from Korea.

  • 0:00

    GPUs are manufactured in Taiwan.

  • 0:00

    Photo masks required for manufacturing come from Japan.

  • 0:00

    Purified materials may originate from the United States.

  • 0:00

    Lasers used in production come from California.

  • 0:00

    Etching machines are sourced from the Netherlands.

  • 0:00

    Injection molding is often performed in China.

  • 0:00

    Wiring production occurs in Vietnam.

  • 2:28

    Deglobalization causes cascading failures across the network.

Who and where

People · 1

  • Drawing of Donald Trump

    Donald Trump 1

    President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)

    Photo 1

1. Photo: Daniel Torok, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Wikidata · redrawn in our house style (Donald Trump)

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