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Last night’s speech by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signals the decisive shift in US economic doctrine: from efficiency to sovereignty. Invoking Alexander Hamilton, Bessent framed industrial capacity not as a legacy asset, but as the foundation of national power in a contested world. The comparison is not casual. If carried through, it would make Bessent the most consequential Treasury secretary since Hamilton himself. The message is clear. Globalisation optimised for cost has left the US exposed, to supply disruptions, geopolitical coercion and technological leakage. Dependence is no longer a benign feature of trade; it is a strategic vulnerability. This is not autarky, but reprioritisation. Semiconductors, energy systems, advanced manufacturing and compute infrastructure are being recast as sovereign capabilities. Supply chains are judged less by efficiency than by their ability to withstand shocks and resist pressure from adversaries. The economics are less comfortable. Resilience implies higher costs, sustained fiscal support and the risk of stickier inflation. But Washington appears willing to pay. For markets, the shift is structural. Capital will follow policy into strategic sectors, while exposure to adversarial supply chains will command a growing discount. Hamilton’s logic has returned. This time, markets may have less choice but to follow.
DrJStrategy ↗