SINGAPORE - The decades-long pursuit of low-cost production has left Western economies dangerously exposed to fragile global supply chains, Mr Donald Trump Jr said, adding that the West has ceded too much control over critical inputs.

In a recent visit to Singapore, the eldest son of US President Donald Trump called for the rebuilding of US industrial muscle in sectors from energy and semiconductors to biotech and strategic minerals. He argued that restoring this capability is now a matter of economic security as much as growth.