Transformers Are AI’s Choke Point

High‑power electrical components (transformers, switchgear, batteries) have become a strategic bottleneck for AI and hyperscale data‑center buildouts: lead times for transformers have stretched to as much as five years, outpacing AI deployment cycles under 18 months. The U.S. is responding by importing more units (notably from China, Canada, Mexico, and South Korea), exposing industrial policy and national‑security tradeoffs. — If core electrical hardware, not compute chips, is the immediate limiter on AI capacity, policy should shift from chip subsidies to supply‑chain, grid, and manufacturing strategy for critical power gear.