Trump Tried to Replace Canada's Aluminum. What He Found Out Next Stopped Him Cold.

By The Decision Room

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70% of America's imported aluminum comes from a single foreign country — Canada. And the United States, the most powerful military on Earth, has just ONE active smelter left that can produce military-grade aluminum for aircraft, armor, and weapons. Then, in 2025, Trump put a 50% tariff on Canadian aluminum. He thought he was punishing Canada. He had it backwards. Here's the fact that explains everything: aluminum is "congealed electricity." It takes ~17,000 kWh to make a single ton — about 18 months of an average home's power. Around 40% of aluminum's cost is just electricity. So whoever has cheap, abundant power makes the metal. Quebec, with its vast hydroelectric dams, produces 90%+ of Canada's aluminum and runs its smelters at 95% capacity. America's power is expensive and getting worse (up ~40% in 5 years), so its smelters closed — Washington, Missouri, Kentucky — and only a couple run at full capacity today. The body of the Ford F-150 — America's best-selling truck — is made fr

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