An investment by Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, the sons of the US President, into a Kazakhstan tungsten project, has been framed as part of efforts to reduce US dependence on Chinese critical minerals. The underlying transaction – a merger between Skyline Builders and Cove Kaz Capital – would create a Nasdaq-listed entity, Kaz Resources, backed by up to $1.6bn in US federal support. Coverage in the financial press has focused, understandably, on deal structure, political exposure and the expansion of Trump-linked business interests. That framing is not misplaced, but it leaves a more consequential industrial ... (full story)