America first !
Temps de lecture : min
In November 2025, the U.S. administration released its “National Security Strategy,” a document outlining the United States’ worldview and its priorities for protecting national interests.
While some elements of this strategy have already been in motion for more than a decade (rivalry with China, protection of innovation, etc.), the core foundations of the text revolve around three major pillars. First, an imperative of domestic security, built on strict border control and the implementation of the “Golden Dome” (a missile‑defense shield designed to secure the entirety of U.S. territory). Second, the pursuit of American hegemonic ambition, with the goal of reasserting control over the Western Hemisphere—considered its direct sphere of influence, where China should not hold economic interests. Finally, the drive for economic and technological dominance, which underpins the security of the military‑industrial complex. It is therefore through the lens of this essential document that decisions taken by the U.S. administration must be viewed, analyzed, and anticipated.
Since the beginning of the year, beyond geopolitical actions (regime change in Venezuela, increased pressure on Panama), U.S. activism has focused on access to minerals—both through the decision to establish strategic reserves on U.S. soil (USD 12 billion to build stocks of cobalt, lithium, rare earths, etc.) and through efforts to create a partnership with Japan and the European Union aimed at stimulating investment. These initiatives are accompanied by direct U.S. investments in raw‑materials companies in Latin America (Lithium Americas and Orion Resource Partners in 2025). The objective is clearly to rapidly reduce dependence on China across this value chain. On domestic protection, the U.S. administration is moving forward at full speed. The 2026 Defense Appropriations Act has ring‑fenced more than USD 13 billion in funding for space and missile‑defense systems linked to the “Golden Dome.”
Finally, in its effort to reassert control over the Western Hemisphere, the coming quarters could prove particularly turbulent. While Cuba and Colombia are regularly cited as being under the influence of hostile governments or drug‑trafficking networks that threaten U.S. domestic security, Peru is also drawing heightened attention. Indeed, since the development of the port of Chancay by the Chinese operator Cosco Shipping, the United States perceives multiple threats: a logistical base enabling the influx of Chinese goods into the U.S. market, risks of military surveillance activities, and growing regional influence over raw‑material exports to China. Some U.S. advisers have begun raising their voices (implementation of punitive tariffs?). There is little doubt that the future of this Chinese “enclave” in Latin America will rekindle Sino‑American tensions in the coming quarters.
The publication of the U.S. National Security Strategy and the measures subsequently taken by the administration fit squarely within the less cooperative and more conflict‑prone world we have been describing for several years in our Economic and Financial Outlook. While the unfolding of this strategy is indeed a source of volatility in financial markets, analyzing it upstream also enables Covéa Finance’s teams to prepare investment strategies anchored in the definition of strategic sectors.
Written by
Vincent HADERER
Head of International Equity Management
