Reference News Network, October 12 report: France's "Echo de Paris" website published an article titled "Trump's Chaotic Interventionism" on October 9, authored by Solvieg Goldlücke. The following is a translated excerpt:

The scene is enough to bring tears to the eyes of French socialists from the 1980s: Over the past few months, U.S. President Trump's economic interventionism has brought the world back to an era decades ago, where political forces dominated corporate decision-making.

In this country known for capitalism and free markets, the U.S. president breaks taboos in the name of national interests. However, his intervention measures lack coherence, and the will to control everything cannot replace a sound economic strategy.

Taking Trump's primary goal, "Reindustrializing America," as an example. After establishing unprecedented tariff barriers to protect "Made in USA," the head of state also intervened in the transaction between Japanese Steel Company and U.S. Steel Company in June, forcing the Japanese side to grant the U.S. government a "golden share," giving it oversight over production activities in the U.S. Trump himself can exercise this power during his term.

With this governance "ace," he forced the metal group to maintain the operation of a forging plant in Illinois that was originally planned to be closed in September. Although the factory was scheduled to shut down, its 800 jobs were required to be retained until 2027. Such absurd instructions eventually forced the group to commit to resuming production.

When the U.S. steel industry, already protected by high tariffs (industry tax rate up to 50%), has lost the motivation to improve competitiveness through competition, preventing domestic companies from modernizing production through restructuring is not beneficial for them. Ultimately, "Made in USA" will become more expensive, triggering a chain reaction in the automotive and manufacturing industries.

Trump also wants to gain an advantage over the economic giant China. For this reason, Washington has prohibited its companies from exporting the latest generation of chips used in artificial intelligence to China.

In April, Trump blocked NVIDIA's delivery of H20 chips to China. However, by August, the president changed his stance and agreed to allow NVIDIA to resume shipments, provided that the company pay 15% of its sales revenue. However, this move may be illegal, as the U.S. prohibits export taxes.

Exploiting companies to fill the treasury has become a routine for Trump's second term, as evidenced by a series of actions: from fundraising at the inauguration to lawsuits against American Broadcasting Companies, Metaverse platform companies, and YouTube; from threatening to halt the merger project between Paramount Global and CBS to demanding a huge intermediary commission for coordinating the acquisition of TikTok.

Trump also arbitrarily controls these funds, such as building a new White House banquet hall. In July, he boasted of securing a $550 billion commitment for direct investment from Japan to the U.S., and now claims it is a "sovereign fund," which he can freely manage.

Trump is fond of "dealing" with business leaders, as it greatly satisfies his desire for power. However, his policy direction is erratic, and there is no coherence in any of his policies, whether it's reindustrialization, containment of China, or filling the treasury. This chaotic interventionism ultimately cannot be compared to a guiding strategy. (Translated by Zhao Ke Xin)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7560278192779575843/

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