La 'Sepi' de Donald Trump irrumpe en más de 30 empresas con 25.000 millones

In a massive wave of government intervention in the U.S. business world, President Donald Trump's administration has taken ownership stakes in over 30 companies, totaling $27.6 billion. This unprecedented level of interventionism began in January 2025, when Trump assumed office for his second term. The primary sectors targeted include technology, heavy industry, energy, and mining.

Among the notable investments are Intel, Korea Zinc, USA Rare Earths, Lithium Americas, IBM, and L3 Harris. The semiconductor industry received 46% of the total investment, highlighting its strategic importance to the U.S. due to the use of chips in artificial intelligence applications. Additionally, Trump's administration has acquired stakes in various critical mineral companies, such as USA Rare Earths, Lithium Americas, Korea Zinc, and Atlantic Alumina, to secure supplies of metals like lithium and tungsten.

The administration is also investing in quantum computing, energy, and defense sectors. However, no single sovereign fund has been established to channel these operations, with purchases distributed among different government departments and public corporations. Many transactions were led by the Commerce Department, headed by Howard Lutnick, who conducted over 20 government acquisitions.

The framework for this investment surge is the 2022 Chips Act, enacted by then-President Joe Biden, which allows the government to subsidize certain projects. The Energy, Defense, Treasury, and International Development Financing Corporation departments spearhead the rest of the acquisitions. In the case of the U.S. Treasury, its sole intervention involved granting a stock option in US Steel to secure strategic decisions from its Japanese rival, Nippon Steel.

While the U.S. traditionally championed liberalization and privatization, the Trump administration's approach has shifted towards greater interventionism, particularly in response to economic competition with China and the global geopolitical landscape.