A U.S. blockade and conflict in the Strait of Hormuz have stranded Gulf aluminum shipments and driven prices to a four-year high, exposing global supply vulnerabilities and deepening trade strain.
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Jackie Northam is NPR's International Affairs Correspondent. She is a veteran journalist who has spent three decades reporting on conflict, geopolitics, and life across the globe - from the mountains of Afghanistan and the desert sands of Saudi Arabia, to the gritty prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and the pristine beauty of the Arctic.