Trump taxed imported chip and solar material; 19 nations joined a U.S. anti-cartel coalition.
A presidential proclamation set a minimum import price on polysilicon, the base material for semiconductors and solar cells, and put a 15 percent tariff on goods made from it; another $2 billion went to domestic mining, battery-anode and magnet projects. The Western Hemisphere drew the week's other large commitments: $1 billion in security assistance for Colombia's new president, a 19-nation counter-cartel coalition convened in Panama, and Venezuela transition talks opening in Caracas. The administration also authorized vetted private companies to run cyber operations against foreign criminal networks, and cut the recommended childhood vaccine schedule from 18 diseases to 11.
Threads at week's end
The Iran confrontation moved to finance. After Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. sanctioned six entities and one individual on August 7, including two digital-asset exchanges, and offered up to $15 million for information on Revolutionary Guard funding. A Senate joint resolution introduced August 6 would withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran that Congress has not authorized. The hemispheric track ran all week. Colombia inaugurated a new president on August 7. The U.S. announced $1 billion in security assistance that day, renewed its drug-interdiction certification on August 10, and sent $15.5 million in relief after a magnitude-7.4 earthquake. The Armenia–Azerbaijan corridor closed its first year with a development company named and Azerbaijan's transit restrictions lifted.
The week's bullets
- Polysilicon tariffs. A presidential proclamation, which led the August 7 brief, set a minimum import price for polysilicon — the base material for semiconductors and solar cells — and imposed a 15% tariff on goods made from it, effective in 120 days.1 It arrived the same week government auditors reported Commerce had canceled $7.8 billion of the $11 billion Congress appropriated for advanced chip research, with no plan to meet its statutory obligations.2Aug 6 · WH
- $2 billion for minerals. Trump announced more than $2 billion in critical-minerals projects on August 7, the lead item of the August 9 brief: $1.4 billion for silicon-carbon battery anodes, $400 million for the world's first primary scandium mine, $150 million for rare-earth-free magnets and $180 million for U.S. mining schools.3 The same day the trade representative endorsed new price benchmarks for gallium, germanium, tungsten, antimony and rare earths, a step toward border-adjusted price floors under a planned trade agreement.4Aug 7 · WH
- Colombia reset. The acting attorney general led the U.S. delegation to the August 7 inauguration of Colombia's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, where Washington said it intends to announce $1 billion in security assistance and welcomed Colombia into the Shield of the Americas.5 Within days Trump renewed U.S. drug-interdiction assistance to Bogotá,6 and State sent $15.5 million in relief after a magnitude-7.4 earthquake on August 10.7Aug 7 · State
- Counter-cartel coalition. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met 19 partner nations in Panama on August 12 to stand up the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition; Southern Command will write and approve a joint campaign plan by November.8 It capped a week of hemispheric activity that also included the opening of Venezuela transition talks in Caracas, sanctions on five Cuban entities and eight individuals over arms procurement, and a new Caribbean undersea-cable initiative.9Aug 12 · War Dept.
- Private offensive cyber. A national security presidential memorandum issued August 13 authorizes vetted U.S. companies to conduct cyber surveillance and disruption operations against foreign criminal organizations; directors at Justice and Homeland Security must approve each operation.10 It closed a week of federal cyber activity that also brought three newly catalogued exploited flaws in Cisco, Microsoft and Metabase products, a joint U.S.–South Korea advisory on Gunra ransomware, and a NIST request for information on modernizing the national vulnerability database.11Aug 13 · WH
- Childhood vaccine schedule. An executive order signed August 10 recognizes 11 diseases for universal childhood immunization, down from the 18 the Centers for Disease Control recommended in 2024, and advises states to revisit school mandates.12 It came in the same stretch as two other health actions: a final rule ending federal Medicaid and children's-health-insurance funding for youth gender procedures on October 13, and the government's first definition of ultra-processed foods, sent for final review.13Aug 10 · WH
- 175,000 visas revoked. The State Department said on August 10 that it has revoked more than 175,000 visas under Trump, most after law-enforcement encounters involving assault, drunk driving, theft and drug crimes.14 Two days later it announced a task force that has revoked more than 600 further visas from travelers concealing plans to give birth in the United States, implementing an executive order signed August 6 and published in the Federal Register on August 11.15Aug 10 · State
Voices of the week
“[I]t is the policy of the United States to use all instruments of national power, including the innovative capabilities of the private sector, to combat cybercrime.”
National Security Presidential Memorandum · Aug 131
“The new motto of the A3C is ‘We do bad things to bad people.’”
Sec. of War Pete Hegseth, Panama · Aug 122
“As a result of non-market policies and practices, global prices for minerals lack the stability necessary for markets to function.”
Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer · Aug 73
Three more voices
“We are taking these actions following Iran’s attacks against commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week.”
Spokesperson Thomas Pigott, State Dept. · Aug 74
“Nearly 60% of the American diet is made up of ultra-processed foods, and childhood obesity now affects more than one in five American children.”
HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. · Aug 105
“Colombia has appropriate procedures in place to protect against innocent loss of life in the air and on the ground in connection with such interdiction.”
Presidential Memorandum on Colombia · Aug 106
Daily briefs this week