"Welcome to President Trump's new business agenda: Extracting payments as if the federal government is brokering deals like a white-shoe consulting firm fueled by lucrative 'fees for service.' Whether it's the U.S. taking 15% of Nvidia and AMD's chip sales to China, the federal government securing a 'golden share' in U.S. Steel or the Trump administration reportedly seeking an equity stake in Lithium Americas as part of a government loan negotiation,"
"The response from the investors, which includes tech mogul Larry Ellison, the Murdochs and venture capital heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz, was an unequivocal yes. "Not a single member balked," said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly. "They see it as something of a finders' fee.""
""At a minimum, this now means there is a tax imposed on every major business transaction," said Luigi Zingales, a professor of finance at the University of Chicago. "But even worse, businesses will no longer be focused on innovating and creating value and instead the whole game now is rent-seeking. It's all about ingratiating yourself with Trump.""
The Trump administration asked a coalition of U.S. investors seeking to acquire TikTok's U.S. operations to make a payment to the federal government "in the low billions." The investor group, including Larry Ellison, the Murdochs and Andreessen Horowitz, agreed to the payment without objection. The White House has pursued similar interventions, including proposals to take 15% of Nvidia and AMD chip sales to China, secure a "golden share" in U.S. Steel, and seek an equity stake in Lithium Americas tied to a government loan. Observers warn these measures act as de facto transaction taxes and shift incentives toward rent-seeking rather than innovation.
Read at www.npr.org
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