JPMorganChase Launches $1.5 Trillion Plan to Boost American Manufacturing Critical to National Security

JPMorganChase on Monday launched a $1.5 trillion initiative to ensure America’s resiliency in key industries such as rare earth minerals and artificial intelligence.

“America remains the bastion of freedom and, equally important, the arsenal of democracy. Our own security is predicated on a strong and resilient domestic economy, which guarantees our ability to build, innovate and to maintain the most capable military in the world. Global peace and world order depend on it,” Jamie Dimon, the chairman and CEO of JPMorganChase, wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.

“Our adversaries and potential adversaries aren’t waiting—we no longer have the luxury of time. America needs more speed and investment. It also needs to remove obstacles that stand in the way: excessive regulation, bureaucratic delay, partisan gridlock and an education system misaligned with the skills we need,” he added.

Dimon wrote that JPMorganChase is taking action to launch the Security and Resiliency Initiative, a ten-year, $1.5 trillion plan to finance and invest in industries critical to national security such as rare earth minerals and artificial intelligence.

“This will also help create economic growth, innovation and jobs in America. It will include direct equity investments of up to $10 billion of our own capital in select companies. This effort will cut across investment banking, middle-market banking and commercial banking,” he continued. “It will include special research on private industries and important issues like supply-chain weaknesses on rare-earth metals. It will also include trying to design policies that can accelerate these efforts, including training, research and development, permitting, and regulations conducive to growth.”

The initiative includes:

Reinforcing the American supply chain, strengthening the production of pharmaceutical precursors, rare earth minerals, and more
Scaling up the American industrial base to build the next generation of drones and next-generation connectivity
Modernizing the grid system to meet increased demand
Building up artificial intelligence and quantum computing

JPMorganChase wrote in a press release that the bank will hire more experts to help fulfill its initiative.

China recently announced it would put more restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals, which are crucial for semiconductor manufacturing and other key technologies. China controls 90 percent of the world’s processing capacity for these key materials, creating a key national security issue for the United States.

Dimon wrote that the country needs to update policies to ensure American dynamism, including a “permitting process measured in months, not years.”

He continued:

Vocational and apprenticeship programs must be expanded to close the manufacturing skills gap. And we must create consistent long-term incentives for private investment in these critical industries so that more capital is available. Fortunately, bipartisan legislation has begun to modernize procurement and streamline industrial policy, and new federal initiatives are encouraging domestic production of chips and critical medications.

Dimon concluded, “We hope that America will come together to address these challenges, as we have in the past. We need to act now.”

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