Happy Friday!

The U.S. just rolled out a brand-new tech alliance — Pax Silica — pulling in Singapore, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Israel to counter China’s grip on critical minerals and the AI stack.

But the story underneath the headlines points to something bigger: the future of AI hinges on the world’s most complex supply chain.

That’s exactly why we launched BuildOut, our new publication tracking the pipes, power, minerals, and logistics powering the AI boom. If you want to stay informed on the supply chain behind AI, you can subscribe to our new newsletter to get the latest updates:

Plus: Check out supply chain news from around the world 🌎. Play our weekly quiz and maintain your win streak 🏆

President Trump said the U.S. will permit Nvidia — along with Intel, AMD, and other chipmakers — to sell H200 AI processors to “approved customers” in China, ending a de facto ban on advanced U.S. AI chip exports. The decision excludes Nvidia’s top-tier Blackwell chips and imposes a 25% U.S. government levy on approved sales to China.

Homemade chips: Despite the US allowing the sales, Beijing is preparing to limit domestic access to Nvidia’s H200 AI chips. Chinese regulators — aiming to accelerate semiconductor self-sufficiency — are considering an approval system that would require buyers to justify why local chips cannot meet their needs. Public-sector entities may be barred outright from buying H200s.

State of play: Nvidia’s H200 is its second-most powerful AI chip, still far ahead of Chinese alternatives. Tech giants like Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance continue to prefer Nvidia hardware and have shifted AI model training offshore to access banned chips.

Boeing has finalized its $8.3 billion acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, taking back control of the fuselage supplier responsible for major structures on the 737, 767, 777, and 787 programs.

The deal includes Spirit’s Boeing-linked commercial operations in Wichita, Dallas, and Tulsa, as well as part of its Belfast facility, which will operate as Short Brothers, a Boeing Company. Roughly 15,000 Spirit employees will now join Boeing.

Trusted deal: To satisfy antitrust requirements, Airbus and Composites Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM) simultaneously closed their purchases of Spirit assets that support Airbus programs.

Big Picture: The acquisition marks one of the biggest supply-chain restructurings in commercial aviation, giving both Boeing and Airbus direct control over troubled parts of a supplier that has struggled with quality issues and financial stress in recent years.

China posted a record $1 trillion trade surplus in the first 11 months of 2025, as exports hit $3.4 trillion and imports slipped to $2.3 trillion — a historic milestone that underscores Beijing’s enduring grip on global manufacturing despite escalating U.S. and EU trade barriers.

High Value: Much of the surge is driven by high-tech and higher-value manufacturing. Auto exports rose to an estimated 6.5 million units. Semiconductor shipments grew nearly 25% year over year.

Plan B: China has effectively rerouted trade flows through Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Africa, enabling goods to reach global markets despite U.S. tariffs. Exports to Vietnam, Indonesia, and other key rerouting hubs continue to rise at double-digit rates.

President Trump has unveiled a $12 billion aid package for U.S. farmers—funded directly from tariff revenues—to cushion the blow from tariffs. Farm exporters, especially soybean producers, have been hit hard by retaliatory Chinese curbs and sharply higher input costs driven by new U.S. tariffs on machinery, fertilizers, and other essentials.

Déjà Vu: The payment programme, set to begin early next year, mirrors Trump’s 2018–19 bailout era, when Washington spent $28 billion to offset losses caused by the first round of tariff battles.

How will the payment be calculated? The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will calculate per-acre payments for different crops using a formula that estimates production costs. Payments will be capped at $155,000 per farm or individual, and only farms earning less than $900,000 annually will qualify.

Cargo theft is becoming one of the fastest-growing threats across U.S. logistics networks, and Washington is now responding. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) have introduced the Cargo Security Innovation Act, a bipartisan bill directing the TSA to launch a three-year pilot program to test advanced cargo-security and law-enforcement technologies at the nation’s highest-risk freight hubs.

Grand Theft Cargo: Cargo theft incidents are climbing at a pace the industry hasn’t seen in years. According to Overhaul, thefts jumped 29 percent year-over-year in Q3 and 23 percent sequentially.

Next Steps: Under the bill, the TSA would test U.S.-made cargo security technologies at up to six high-theft intermodal hubs, spanning ports, airports, rail yards, and land crossings. The agency must deliver a two-year report to Congress assessing effectiveness and cost-benefit.

Ionic Mineral Technologies announced it has discovered high-grade concentrations of 16 critical minerals—including lithium, germanium, rubidium, cesium, vanadium, niobium, and scandium—at its Silicon Ridge site in Utah.

Key Details: According to reports, Ionic MT has already briefed the Trump administration, which has expressed strong interest given the minerals’ role in EV batteries, semiconductors, aerospace alloys, atomic clocks, and defense systems. Early drilling covers 600 acres, but the company says that’s “just scratching the surface” of what could be the most significant domestic find in decades.

Big Picture: The discovery arrives as the U.S. pushes to break China’s grip on critical minerals, which still supply 90% of global rare earths.

BHP Group has agreed to sell a 49% stake in the inland power network that supports its Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) operations to BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in a $2 billion deal.

Big Deal: Under the structure, BHP will place the power assets into a new trust, retaining a 51% stake while GIP acquires the minority stake. BHP will continue to operate the network and will pay a 25-year tariff aligned to its share of power usage.

Why is BHP doing this? The transaction is intended to free up capital as BHP increases spending on new growth projects—particularly in copper and potash, commodities central to long-term electrification and agricultural demand trends.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in September to $52.8 billion, the lowest reading since June 2020, as exports surged and imports ticked up only slightly. The 10.9% month-over-month contraction surprised economists, who had expected the gap to widen to $63.3 billion.

Whole Numbers: Exports rose 3% to $289.3 billion, driven by a 4.9% jump in goods shipments, including record highs in consumer goods. Imports increased just 0.6%, with automotive imports falling to their weakest level since late 2022. The goods deficit shrank to $79 billion, its smallest since 2020.

COSCO has signed a landmark $7.07 billion contract with China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) for 87 newbuilds—the largest single domestic shipbuilding order in China’s history.

Deal Details: The package comprises containerships, bulk carriers, tankers, and multipurpose vessels, with construction spread across major CSSC yards, including Jiangnan, Guangzhou, Wuchang, Dalian, Beihai, and Chengxi.

Why this matters: This is China’s largest-ever domestic shipbuilding contract, reinforcing COSCO’s role as the most aggressive fleet expander in 2025. The vessels will incorporate next-generation, energy-efficient designs, alternative-fuel readiness, and AI-enabled operating systems, aligning with IMO decarbonisation goals and China’s strategy to secure its maritime supply chain.

The U.S. Navy has awarded Palantir a $448 million contract to overhaul the supply chain for its nuclear submarine fleet, aiming to reduce chronic maintenance delays. The deal will replace manual, spreadsheet-based parts tracking with Palantir’s AI-driven system, giving the Navy real-time visibility into parts availability and the ability to predict shortages months in advance.

Key Details: The program—called Ship OS—initially covers two major shipbuilders, three public shipyards, and more than 100 suppliers, with potential expansion to aircraft carriers and fighter programs. Navy officials say improved supply-chain coordination is critical as submarine overhauls routinely exceed their planned 18-month schedule due to missing parts and workflow bottlenecks.

Big Picture: The contract, funded through the administration’s recent spending bill, marks a major expansion of Palantir’s defense footprint. It also aligns with a broader U.S. effort to revive domestic shipbuilding capacity as China continues to outpace the U.S. by a wide margin.