[Wuli]

“I can’t help but imagine the impact this specific issue would have if we found ourselves at war with China. How long would it take to get our act together to start producing these rare earth metals again from our own country, and would it be in time to prevent either defeat or massive loss of life?”

You are mixing up apples and oranges in your argument.

Sugar is not a rare commodity.

Sugar is not a strategic commodity in terms of our national defense.

Sugar, unlike many precious metals, we are fully capable of supplying for ourselves domestically, to ANY extent it is NECESSARY for us to do so.

That abaility does not REQUIRE us to restrict sugar imports the way we are. We will be fine with lower sugar import retrictions, economically and certainly strategically.

Keep the apples and oranges separate.

[Pox]

Sugar is not a rare commodity.

Neither are rare earth metals in reality. Overzealous environmental regulations along with the disparity in labor costs once again makes this an apt comparison.

Sugar is not a strategic commodity in terms of our national defense.

I would beg to differ. An Army functions best with well fed and relatively happy soldiers. That is a truism that cannot easily be dismissed, and sugar is a very important ingredient that cannot easily be replaced. The primary reason it would not be considered a strategic commodity at this time is because we still produce that commodity in significant volume. Take that away and you are right back at the same spot we once were at concerning rare earths.

Sugar, unlike many precious metals, we are fully capable of supplying for ourselves domestically, to ANY extent it is NECESSARY for us to do so.

Again, just like rare earths, sugar can be produced here if the playing field is level, but if it is so much cheaper to get elsewhere, sugar will NOT be produced here under your guidelines. Rare earths are a perfect example of what will happen under "free trade".

Sugar, unlike many precious metals, we are fully capable of supplying for ourselves domestically, to ANY extent it is NECESSARY for us to do so.

And I disagree with your analysis. We used to have rare earth mines in this county but due to the cheap prices from China, those were shut down, remember? We are quite capable of producing all, or at least most, rare earths in our own country if our absurd regulations are made much more realistic, and you are now seeing that effort being made due to the fact that our government now sees exactly what is at stake from this terrible short sightedness. Not due to cost mind you, but due now to their unavailability on a whim from China.

Again, you dismiss this as a comparison that is not apt, but I believe you are severely mistaken.